If you know pizza, you know Dave Portnoy — the founder of Barstool Sports and the face behind the viral “One Bite” pizza reviews. When Dave rolled through Iowa, he stopped by our shop, Pepp’s Pizzeria in Urbandale. And it wasn’t luck — it was YOU. Our Pepp’s fam tweeted, messaged, tagged, and did everything possible to get us on his radar, and it worked! Llet’s just say… things got interesting.
For a small, locally owned pizzeria, one visit from Portnoy can change everything — and it sure did for us. So, here’s the full story…
They don’t call it pizza power for nothing.
After Dave visited our shop we posted a quick mention on our social media, and then we sold out the next two nights before close. A month later, when he finally dropped the full One Bite review, we saw two record-breaking nights in a row.
Thankfully, we had a feeling it might drop that week — so we prepped extra dough (lots of it).
The numbers speak for themselves. Dave’s platform can make or break pizza places across the country, and we’re not shy to admit it — his review brought a wave of new faces, full tables, and tons of energy into Pepp’s.
When Dave stopped in, we made the decision not to stand next to him during his review. We wanted his honest, unfiltered reaction.
Outside the shop, Dave gave Pepp’s a 7.3, a solid score in the One Bite world. But before walking back in, he told his cameraman he was “going to lie to us.”
Sure enough, when he came back inside, he told our team the score was 7.6.
We were pumped! Until the video dropped a month later and we finally heard the truth…
Instead of taking it too seriously, we decided to have fun with it — Dave style.
The day after his video dropped, our team got right to work. The opportunity was too good. So, we designed a shirt that read: “One Lie. Everyone Knows the Rules.”
It featured 7.3 crossed out and 7.6 circled — a little friendly jab back at Dave for flipping the numbers.
We launched a quick response video (you can watch it here) and the internet ate it up. The post exploded past 1.1 million impressions in less than 3 days, and across all social platforms, our Dave content surpassed 1.6 million views since his visit.
The buzz even caught the attention of The Des Moines Register, who featured the story, and yes — we sold a bunch of shirts too.
What we loved most about the whole experience is how it brought people together — pizza fans, locals, and new visitors who had never heard of us before.
Love him or hate him, Dave Portnoy has built one of the biggest pizza brands in the world, and when that spotlight hit our little shop in Iowa, we embraced it.
Everything was done in good fun, and the experience reminded us how much joy and community a simple pizza can create.
To everyone who stopped by, shared our posts, or purchased one of those shirts — thank you. The support was unbelievable, and it showed what happens when a small-town pizzeria meets a global audience.
To Dave: thanks for stopping in, thanks for the laugh, and thanks for reminding everyone that Iowa knows its pizza, too.
If you haven’t been in yet, come see what the hype’s about. You can find us at 4640 86th Street in Urbandale, Iowa (Open Tues-Sat from 11am-8:30pm), serving up the crust you dream about and pizza you brag about with a side of Iowa Nice.
When Barstool’s Dave Portnoy stopped by Pepp’s Pizzeria in Urbandale, everything changed. See the story behind the score.
Class is in session! Local teacher Ms.Neuhaus tastes and grades Pepp’s October pizza specials at Pepp’s Pizzeria in Urbandale.
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