Which Austin pizza joint claims the best cheese slice in the US? Take a look

If you’re looking for the best cheese pizza in Austin (or maybe the country), Saccone’s Pizza just added some important new credentials.

The pizza restaurant’s owner, Dan Saccone, recently took first place in the inaugural America’s Best Cheese Slice category at the Pizza & Pasta Northeast Show for the International Pizza Challenge in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to a release from the U.S. Pizza Team, a group of nationally competitive pizza-makers.

Saccone, his colleague Jon Garland, and about 70 of the country’s best pizza-makers competed across a range of categories to display their expertise. Garland, who co-owns Saccone’s Pizza, placed 17th in the America’s Best Cheese Slice category.

“I’m honored, humbled and blessed,” Saccone said of his first-place award. “This is the moment I’ve waited for for so many years.”

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Saccone said he has long pushed the competition’s organizers to add a Best Cheese Slice category because pizza is, at its core, dough, sauce and cheese. Adding toppings to the mix complicates the judges’ abilities to evaluate pizzas evenly, he said.

Saccone’s Pizza has two locations in the Austin area. Its main location is located in Leander at 11880 Hero Way West, and its second location is in Austin at 13776 U.S.-183 Highway #131.

Saccone wins three world pizza championships in a year

Saccone’s first-place finish in the America’s Best Cheese Slice category is the third top honor he’s won in under 12 months, according to the release. He won previous competitions for Tandem Pizza Makers and Best Pasta, and he recently earned Premiere member status on the U.S. Pizza Team. To date, he’s earned over 20 awards across a spate of pizza competitions nationwide.

“That’s three world championships in a year,” Saccone said. “There are very few people who have gotten to that level.”

Besides his competitive success, one of Saccone’s biggest points of pride is his ability to win competitions with the same ingredients he uses in his restaurants. Some of his competitors switch to specialized ingredients they don’t normally use at their pizza shops, he said, but he pulls dough, sauce, cheese and more directly from his restaurants to compete.

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Competition wins may lead to more customers and employees, Saccone says

Saccone hopes his most recent national pizza victory can bring more notoriety to his shops. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of customers his restaurants serve and the size of his employee base has not entirely recuperated, he said.

Taking top prizes at national competitions like the ones he’s won is essential for small businesses like his to make a name for themselves, he said. He hopes more customers will stop in to try his award-winning pizzas, though he also hopes his victory incentivizes people aspiring to work in pizza-making to apply at his restaurants.

“I think it’ll help drive some people coming in,” he said.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin pizza joint wins top honors in national best cheese slice category