A thin-crust, square-cut pie with pepperoni laid edge to edge and a crisp bottom. The pizza was codified at Donatos on Thurman Avenue in 1963 by Jim Grote and remains the city's defining regional pie.
Ohio State sophomore Jim Grote bought the original Donatos location on Thurman Avenue in German Village on May 31, 1963 for $1,300 and codified the Columbus thin-crust square pie with pepperoni edge to edge. The chain expanded to 400 plus locations across 30 states and reopened the original Thurman Avenue location in 2023 for its 60th anniversary. The Columbus square pie distinguishes itself from New York fold-style and Chicago deep-dish by its airy thin crust, square cut and topping discipline.
3 editor picks for Columbus-style pizza in Columbus, ranked by editorial score. All Columbus signature dishes · Columbus-style pizza across every city.
Yellow Brick Pizza ★ 4.1
franklinton · 415 W Rich St, Columbus, OH 43215
Yellow Brick Pizza on West Rich Street in Columbus's Franklinton is the West Side arts district craft-pizza counter for thin-crust pies and pepperoni slices.
Donatos Pizza ★ 4.0
german-village · 1227 S James Rd, Columbus, OH 43227
Donatos Pizza, the Columbus thin-crust square pie founded by Jim Grote on Thurman Avenue in 1963, defines the city pizza with pepperoni to the edge.
Mikey's Late Night Slice ★ 4.0
short-north · 457 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215
Mikey's Late Night Slice on North High Street is the Columbus Short North late-night pizza counter, by-the-slice until 03:00 weekends since 2009.