Chicago-born tavern-style pizza is having a moment, catching fire in cities as far away as San Francisco. A frozen pizza company is getting in on the craze: Tombstone Pizza announced the release of its new tavern-style product. 

A press release circulated by Tombstone Pizza, which is based in Wisconsin, said the new product is a nod to the company’s “born-in-a-bar heritage” and represents “an all-new take on the zesty, bold taste first introduced nearly 65 years ago in Medford, Wisconsin.” 

Tavern-style pizza is known for its “cracker-thin” crust and rectangular cut. According to Jonathan Porter, a Chicago pizza expert and operator of Chicago Pizza Tours, tavern-style pizza is also by far the preeminent style in Chicago—something that may surprise those who associate Chicago with deep-dish pies. 

Related: The Weird and Bewildering Story Behind Chicago’s Deep-Dish Pizza

“The No. 1 pizza in all of Chicago is the thin-crust, tavern-style pizza…It accounts for about 80% of all pizza being sold in Chicago,” Porter told PMQ. “But a lot of places will put a stuffed pizza, similar in size to a deep dish but different in every other way, on the menu alongside tavern-style, because they can use the same dough for both.”

Tombstone will look to tap into the time-tested style’s surge in popularity. The company describes its new tavern-style offering as “bursting with flavor” and “loaded with delicious toppings and the brand’s signature sauce, all on a thin, buttery crust.” 
Tombstone pizza has been making headlines of late. The frozen pizza company recently teamed up with New Belgium Brewing to produce a Voodoo Ranger I(Pizza)A: a beer that had subtle frozen-pizza-like notes (whatever that means).

Food & Ingredients