Pie Guys’ Pizzeria in Austin, Texas, does its homework, offering both entertainment and top-notch pies to a college student clientele.

According to the Republican Herald, “Fans flocked to a hometown pizzeria March 27 to meet jazz great Dave Pell.”

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, is launching the next chapter of advertising its “inspired” new hand-tossed pizza. Following the breakthrough Oh Yes We Did campaign – where actual Domino’s Pizza employees faced consumer criticism head-on in reinventing the company’s core hand-tossed recipe – the new campaign takes America on a journey to find the last pizza “holdouts.”

According to the BBC, “Italians do not make the world’s best pizzas, according to organisers of the Pizza and Pasta Expo held in Paris on Wednesday. They gathered the country’s best pizza makers and pitted them against candidates from the rest of the world and decided the French are the best pizza makers. France is the second biggest consumer of pizza in the world after the USA – ahead of its Italian inventors.”

Marco’s Pizza, an authentic Italian pizza company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, opened its second store in the Austin, Texas, area on Monday, March 29.

The National Restaurant Association has launched the pilot of Greener Restaurantsâ„¢ – a new, national program to recognize restaurants’ environmental sustainability efforts.

New York-based private equity firm Lee Equity Partners has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the nearly 1,200 unit Papa Murphy’s Take ’N’ Bake pizza chain from its current majority owner, Charlesbank Capital Partners. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Tutta Bella Executive Chef Brian Gojdics is featuring the “Pizza Umberto†as the month of April’s Pizza Speciale. Made with a combination of extra virgin olive oil, Pomodoro San Marzano, Genoa salami, roasted mushrooms, slivered garlic and fresh oregano, this particular pizza is made without cheese (yes – lactose intolerant pizza lovers – now you can have your pie and enjoy it too!).

Master Chef Scott Robinson, CWMC, CEC, CCE, CHE, director of Culinary Studies and Food Service Administration at Phoenix College, accepted a Chefs of Tomorrow™ grant from Bruce Taylor, Business Manager with Sheboygan, Wisc.-based Johnsonville Sausage on March 19 during the Research Chefs Association’s (RCA) 2010 Conference & Culinology Expo. The grant will be used to advance the professional development of foodservice faculty at Phoenix College.

According to Seattle Weekly, “This week, Jason Sheehan uses his review of two Seattle-based purveyors of Chicago-style pizza to make one thing abundantly clear: He finds deep-dish pizza to be vastly inferior to the thin, tangy slices slung in his native New York. The crux of Sheehan’s argument is that Chicago-style pizza isn’t even pizza; rather, it’s essentially a giant tomato and cheese sandwich, with way too much bread.”

It is with great sadness that Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund /quotes/comstock/11t!pza.un (CA:PZA.UN 7.30, +0.03, +0.41%) (the “Fund”) and Pizza Pizza Limited (the “Company”) today announced the death of Michael Overs, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Company.

According to the New York Times, “There was a television crew in Motorino in Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago, Michelle Park from NY1 shooting a segment with the restaurant’s chef, the elegant young Mathieu Palombino. He smiled shyly in chef’s whites.”

Flippers Pizzeria (flipperspizzeria.com), known for firing up perfect, handcrafted pizzas in their authentic brick-ovens, is taking their successful 23-year-old concept to the national franchise market.

Driven by a solid improvement in restaurant operators’ outlook for sales growth, capital spending plans and staffing levels, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) rose to its highest level in 27 months in February.

According to CeleBuzz.com, “Does Heidi Klum have a great life, or what? Loving husband. Beautiful kids. Fame. Fortune. And, perhaps best of all, pizza!”

Find out how some pizzerias have turned the age-old “cold pizza for breakfast” tradition to their advantage.

Public Media Works, Inc. /quotes/comstock/11k!pubm (PUBM 0.80, +0.10, +14.29%) announced today that EntertainmentXpress has entered into an agreement with Pizza Hut franchisee Aurora Huts LLC of Mars, Pennsylvania.

According to TheDisneyBlog.com, “Culinary expansions are under way at the Italy pavilion and Mexico pavilion. In Italy, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria plans to open in time for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

“A man who was caught on camera stealing a donation jar from a Ferndale pizzeria Wednesday has returned some of the money and apologized,” WDIV-TV in Michigan reported.

According to QSR Magazine, “As mobile quick serves grow in popularity across the country, operators should be prepared for a host of challenges when running one.”