A new feature in Bon Appétit magazine is putting Detroit’s signature square pizza in the spotlight. The story, written by Detroit Free Press food critic Lyndsay C. Green, celebrates the Motor City’s unique pizza style and highlights eight standout pizzerias keeping it alive in Detroit. 

As Detroit-style pizza has spread across the country, its origin story has become well known: The dish dates back to the 1940s and is famously credited to Gus Guerra at Buddy’s Rendezvous (now known simply as Buddy’s Pizza). The rectangular pies were first cooked in deep steel pans once used to hold auto parts—could there be anything more Detroit than that? 

The style has other calling cards, too, including the order of which the ingredients are layered onto the pizza: cheese first, followed by toppings and then typically finished with stripes of tomato sauce ladled on top. But perhaps its most defining feature is the “frico” perimeter, formed by crispy, caramelized cheese that enhances its signature crunch. 

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The Bon Appétit feature makes clear that what defines a “real” Detroit-style pizza can be blurry. Innovation is part of the genre’s DNA, and that is on full display across metro Detroit, where a new generation of pizzaiolos is putting its own spin on the classic. The magazine notes that everything from lobster to lamb to sourdough crusts and vegan toppings are fair game, so long as the pie honors the format in some way, shape or form. 

The eight chosen pizzerias also reflect Detroit’s diverse culinary scene. Whether it’s a decades-old family joint or a newcomer operating out of a wellness center on Sundays, each featured spot contributes to the evolving definition of what Detroit-style pizza can be.

Green’s article will appear in the August print issue of Bon Appétit, hitting newsstands Aug. 1. Photography for the piece was shot by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., adding rich visual texture to the already flavorful subject matter.

Here are the eight pizzerias featured in Bon Appétit’s spotlight:

Outside the Motor City, one of the most famous Detroit-style pizza brands to have sprung up over the past 15 years is Via 313, which was founded by Brandon and Zane Hunt in Austin, Texas, in 2011. The Hunts appeared on an episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast in early 2024 and detailed what it was like to grow up eating the square pizza that became their bread and butter. 

“Back then, it was just round or square pizza that you could get [in Detroit],” Brandon Hunt told PMQ Pizza. “Some people had the big crust like a traditional Siclian, while others had the cheese all the way around the edge like Buddy’s does. But as a kid, I don’t really recall [the two square styles] being separate—you just always got either a round or square pizza when you went out.” 

“Buddy’s… was quite expensive for the time, at least compared to the other pizza we grew up eating,” Hunt continued. “So that was almost a treat, being able to eat at Buddy’s.”

Food & Ingredients