A glowing review from Dave Portnoy had a predictable result for Artisan Pizza Café in Columbus, Ohio, this fall: lines out the door and more foot traffic than owner/pizza maker Jasmin Ahmed likely ever dreamed of. Then, things got, well, far less predictable.
From hard-earned good fortune to a sudden stroke of terrible luck, Ahmed has endured two months of ups and downs at her little pizza shop. But, thanks again to Portnoy, she’s now set for a remarkable comeback.
In a review that has garnered more than 250,000 views on YouTube alone, Portnoy gave Ahmed’s pizza a stellar score of 8.1 back in early September. According to 614Now.com, that’s one of the highest scores—if not the highest—that the One Bite reviewer has ever given to a Columbus pizzeria. It’s high for any pizzeria anywhere, in fact.
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But Portnoy delivered his verdict with a little trepidation; the restaurant was newly opened and understaffed. Would Ahmed’s two-person team be able to handle the guaranteed rush of new business?
In the One Bite video, the petite, soft-spoken Ahmed assured El Presidente that she had another employee coming onboard and they’d be ready for the onslaught.
Even so, Portnoy repeatedly urged his followers: “Be patient!” Since Artisan Pizza Café has no online ordering system and every pie is made from scratch, he warned, “You’re gonna have to show up in person, and you’re gonna have to be patient!”
What Ahmed could not have anticipated: As business skyrocketed overnight, her overworked oven quickly went on the fritz. The lower deck stopped heating up, and the pizza stones turned out to be chipped. To make matters worse, Step Out Columbus reported that the oven manufacturer “ghosted her” after she reached out for assistance.
Lacking other options, Ahmed closed down her pizza operation and launched a GoFundMe campaign to buy a new oven as well as a freezer for all the extra dough required to meet customer demand. But thus far it has only raised $1,310 toward her goal of $7,000.
How such good fortune could immediately nosedive into disaster is an existential head-scratcher. Ahmed was doing everything right. Portnoy raved about the freshness, flavor and quality of her ingredients. A reviewer for Step Out Columbus also put out a wildly enthusiastic review on September 6, declaring, “I can’t even describe how incredible this completely unknown pizza shop is…it is [among the] top 3 pizza[s] I’ve had ever, ever!”
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Ironically, however, Ahmed had become a victim of her own success. The positive reviews, it seemed, had backfired.
Then, the story took another twist: Portnoy, who was clearly both charmed by Ahmed and impressed with her culinary skills during his visit, learned about the oven breakdown and followed up. As several media outlets have reported, Portnoy offered, on the spot, to buy her a brand-new oven straight from Italy.
“He texted me,” Ahmed told WSYX ABC 6. “He was, like, ‘How much do you need?’” Ahmed struck her chest with her fist as she recalled the conversation. “I couldn’t talk!”
“The oven is like a Lamborghini,” Ahmed told Step Out Columbus. “It’s from Italy, from one of the largest, oldest companies. It’s a badass oven and so expensive.”
Once the new oven is up and running, Artisan Pizza Café will hold a grand re-opening next month. “I love doing pizza,” Ahmed said in the WSYX interview. “My nickname is Pizza Baby, and I grew up eating pizza every day, and that’s my life.”
She added, “I’m so grateful that [Portnoy] came over, that he gave me that chance…to believe in me and to try my pizza. It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe how many people came and tried my pizza.”
The Step Out Columbus review described Ahmed’s crust as “light, crispy [and] fluffy. The tomato sauce is tangy and fresh. It has a delicious cheesy blend that’s savory with just a bit of bite. And every pie is handmade by the owner, Jasmin, who relies on her unique African and Italian upbringing to make phenomenal food.”
