Regional Pizza Chains That Really Should Go National

With 20 locations around Texas and two next door in Oklahoma, it’s not surprising that a recent pizza of the month at DoubleDave’s was the Chili Pie — topped with chili, corn chips, mozzarella, and cheddar. Dave’s Fave includes mozzarella with a sauce of olive oil, garlic, and oregano and a choice of meatballs and sausage or tomatoes and garlic spinach. The chain has also introduced gluten-free cauliflower-crust pizza, and has won awards for its sustainability and environmental efforts.

The white clam pizza at this small New Haven, Connecticut-based pizza chain, founded in 1925, has been hailed as the best pizza in its state, but also as the best pizza anywhere in America (by The Daily Meal, which called out the topping of “freshly shucked, briny littleneck clams, an intense dose of garlic, olive oil, and oregano, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano atop a charcoal-colored crust.”) The New Haven original has expanded to six other Connecticut locations, plus one each in New York State and Rhode Island and two in Massachusetts, so now at least one corner of New England can enjoy Pepe’s acclaimed specialty, along with such other offerings as the Original Tomato Pie, the classic Margherita, and a spinach, mushroom, and Gorgonzola pizza.

With about 50 locations around northeastern Ohio, Gionino’s has won fans all over the area for its steak pizza with white sauce, spinach-laden Popeye Pizza, G-Mac-N-Cheese Pizza (white cheddar macaroni and cheese topped with provolone), white pizza with banana peppers and black olives, and more.

This Anchorage-based chain grew out of a group of 10 Little Caesars franchises that pulled out of that chain’s system and rebranded, introducing new recipes and upgrading the ingredients. There are now a dozen locations around the state, serving regular, deep-dish, and stuffed-crust pizzas, with standard toppings — plus reindeer sausage — available. The specialty pies include one embellished with grilled garlic chicken, onions, and tomatoes, on a ranch dressing base, topped with a blend of mozzarella and jack cheese.

A longtime Chicago favorite, with nine area locations, Home Run describes its crust as “buttery, flaky.” In addition to a build-your-own option, the chain proposes such specialties as the Garlic Fireball (sausage, jalapeños, and giardiniera on a garlic butter crust), the Sweet Caliente (pepperoni, jalapeños, and pineapple), and the Double Pepperoni, with pepperoni both under and on top of the cheese.