Carbon County pizza shop owner brings home the win
NESQUEHONING, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local pizza shop owner in Carbon County is prepping for one of the busiest days of the year this holy week.
He just returned home with one of the biggest pizza awards in the world, and 28/22’s Gianna Galli spent the day with him in the kitchen.
All day and night, Tony Cerimele and his family are getting their ovens ready for Good Friday pizza sales.
It’s exactly one week after Cerimele became the 2024 World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year in Las Vegas.
Inside the basement of his childhood home, New Columbus Pizza Company in Nesquehoning, Tony Cerimele and his family prep pizzas for Good Friday.
It’s a quick turnaround after competing at the International Pizza Challenge during the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas last week, but it was worth the effort.
Cerimele walked away as the 2024 World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year.
“I’m happy to have done it. It’s really a goal that I set once I got into it. We all know we have great pizza here in Northeastern Pennsylvania but this little town of Nesquehoning, it’s great to put everything officially on the map,” said Cerimele.
This isn’t the first time Cerimele has vied for the title, but it is the first time he’s come out on top.
Now he’s featured in the cookbook, The Pursuit of Pizza.
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One of his closest friends and pizza-making partners says it’s a moment to be proud of.
“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t talk pizza. I’m just so happy for him. What a huge accomplishment. Huge,” said Cosomo’s Cheesteaks Owner Cosmo Salerno.
Cerimele says a significant part of his success both in Las Vegas and in Nesquehoning is because of one special man in his life: His father, Fred, who passed away three years ago on Good Friday.
“He would be so proud of all of this. From taking over the business, the success of the business as it is now, and everything he would just be so proud of him,” said Tony’s sister Theresa Stanko.
It’s generational baked pizza created from family recipes in the 1950s that now live on through Tony.
“He helped me bring it home that’s for sure. He always was you’re gonna do it, you’re gonna do it. Just keep going keep going. I wish he was here to be able to see it, but he was he was here,” said Cerimele.
No more orders can be placed for Friday, but if you’d like to place a takeout order in the future you can call (570) 669-9800 to order or order online.
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