By Rick Hynum
Pizzeria owners, chefs, managers, servers, cooks, even the occasional busboy, showed off their comedic chops on social media in 2025.
PMQ Pizza has been wowed by the explosion of creativity, humor and droll absurdity on display this year, especially the short-form “skits” that take followers behind the scenes at their hometown pizza shops. From back-of-house melodrama to annoying guests to silly dances and bright, feel-good moments, indie shops used humor and warmth to humanize their brand, foster community and boost engagement.
Yes, you can—and should—continue to post videos and, in the case of Instagram, photos showcasing your top-selling pizzas and other menu items. But why always take it so seriously? Pizza is about community, good times, love and laughter. And as an owner or manager, you don’t have to be the next Kate McKinnon or Nate Bargatze of pizza to pull this off. You’ve got naturally funny team members, and most funny people love attention.
Younger employees also stay on top of the latest viral memes and audio clips, practically live on TikTok, and will pelt you with fresh, on-trend ideas—if you listen. Best of all, you can promote special offers, new menu items and social media-exclusive deals with scroll-stopping humor to drive more sales. Give these marketing masters a follow on Instagram and/or TikTok and learn from the best!
G’Zepps Old School Italian Pizza, located in Old Bridge, New Jersey, has been killing it with its 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. To win free merch and gift cards, followers have to like the posts, comment, tag a friend and repost the video. Each one grabs attention from the very start, but this one made me laugh out loud—you gotta love this young woman’s take-no-prisoners attitude.
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Social media influencer Dave Portnoy gave her Thinny Thin pizza a stellar 8.5 score, but Brittany Crevier brings her own star power to Cafe Crevier in Denville, New Jersey. Balancing humor with straightforward marketing savvy, Crevier posts the perfect blend of reels and still photos of delicious food. It’s a wonder she finds the time, though, considering her many other achievements. After all, she is the Kim Kardashian of pizza, as you’ll see in the video below.
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Pizza Twist in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, fires up Indian fusion fare like the Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken pizzas. They’re a far cry from traditional Jersey pies, but humor goes a long way towards softening attitudes and opening minds. Pizza Twist posts funny reels largely featuring the same two team members portraying various characters—and no matter what they’re up to, they’re always a pleasure to watch.
I was hard-pressed to choose a favorite video from Vinnie’s Pizza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. For years Vinnie’s has been famous for its oddball pies such as a pizza topped with miniature pizzas and a pizza served in a pizza box made of pizza (both of which went stark-raving viral about 10 years ago). So it’s no surprise that co-owner Sean Berthiaume has successfully steered the restaurant into the social media age with flair and offbeat humor. Check out this video in which a customer asks for “disco fries” on his pizza pie and “Barry Gibb” of The Bee Gees fame saves the day.
Sometimes “sweet” beats “LOL,” and past PMQ cover star Janet Zapata of 550 Pizzeria in Laredo, Texas, knows it. In one of our favorite social media campaigns of 2025, Zapata hosted a video series called “Bring Your Mom to Work Day” leading up to Mother’s Day, and it was marvelous without feeling overly sentimental. Mothers joined their sons and daughters in the 550 Pizzeria kitchen to learn how to make their favorite pizzas and pastas. The approach was unrehearsed and authentic, the tone gentle and warm, and from a hometown marketing perspective, it was sheer genius. Try it yourself for Mother’s Day 2026!
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At Cam’s Pizzeria in Rochester, New York, Giuliana Calascibetta, a past PMQ Pizza cover star and uber-popular Twitch personality, brings joyful energy to every video she and her sister/collaborator, Bianca, create. Their weekly Crazy Slice special is exactly what it sounds like, featuring oddball ingredients that few, if any, would ever think to put on a pizza. Is herring with cheese likely to be a top seller? Maybe not, but who cares? The fun is in watching Giuliana, the pizza community’s ultimate girl-next-door, make it anyway, even when she gets soaked in herring juice.
As former engineers, Hengam and Matt Stanfield figure out how stuff works, why it works (or doesn’t) and then make it better. Their methodical approach to efficiency and productivity has grown Mattenga’s Pizzeria to seven stores in San Antonio. But the Stanfields, who were featured on PMQ’s June-July 2024 cover, have never lost their sense of fun. And judging by recent video posts, their sons, Mark and Luke, might be following in Mom and Dad’s footsteps. We don’t know what most boys read for fun these days (is Captain Underpants still a thing?), but we’re pretty sure it’s not The 33 Strategies of War.
Gonna take a wild guess here: Santoro’s Pizzeria owner Travis Kaiser hires team members first and foremost based on personality. (You can train nearly anyone on prep work, managing the pizza oven, customer service, etc. You can’t teach charm, wit and likability.) This Jersey slice concept in Tampa Bay has a banger of an Instagram and TikTok presence that spotlights employees like Emma and Joey working behind the scenes, laughing, joking, teasing each other—and still getting the work done. Scroll through the videos and you’ll feel like you work there, too—or wish that you did.
Look, this one is just adorable, period. I defy anyone to say otherwise. I will fight you. The Marlton, New Jersey location of Pat’s Select Pizza | Grill clearly has buy-in from its high-spirited team members. Many videos feature the mostly female staff engaged in some form of mischief—in one video, an employee forcefully abducts a passerby off the street to boost foot traffic—but little kids show up, too, and the cuteness rating is off the charts.
Antonino’s Ristorante started offering delivery by The Grinch in December 2020, long before that became a “thing” for pizza shops and other restaurants. The pandemic lockdown was in full swing at the time, and for many, the holidays didn’t feel the same. Enter “the mean one.” As co-owner Nanette Pecararo told PMQ, “We came up with this idea to help kids and parents bring some joy into the holiday. We were all homebound. Kids were e-learning from school, couldn’t see friends and were stuck inside. So we thought, ‘Let’s get a Grinch costume to put kids’ smiles back on their faces!’” It has become a beloved tradition in La Grange, Illinois, since then, and this video from December 13, 2025, proves the idea will never get old.
