By Brian Hernandez
In a world of delicate leopard-spotted Neapolitan crusts and razor-thin New York street slices, one pizzaiolo dared to look Motor City in the eyes and say, “Let’s ride.” Giovanni Labbate, owner of Tievoli Pizza Bar in Palatine, Illinois, and a U.S. Pizza Team champion, recently shifted gears and dropped a culinary bombshell: He’s added Detroit-style pizza to his already upscale, East Coast-inspired menu.
And spoiler alert—it’s taking off like a V8 with a turbo kit. Car guys say that…right?!
How the Frico Hit the Fan
Detroit-style pizza isn’t just a pan pizza—it’s a personality, a square, saucy, cheese-crowned force of flavor, forged in the shadows of post-WWII Michigan’s automotive industry. Originally developed at pizzerias like Buddy’s and Cloverleaf, with major amplification by the late, great Shawn Randazzo of Detroit Style Pizza Co., this style has become a full-blown nationwide movement.
Its signature? A thick, airy yet crispy, dough, sauce on top, and most iconically, the frico—that golden, caramelized crown of cheese that forms on the edges where the cheese meets the sides of the pan. It’s crispy, it’s chewy, it’s slightly dangerous if consumed too fast.
“We tried it many different ways and with many different cheeses,” Labbate said. “We thought the brick cheese and mozzarella cheese was the best for us.”
Related: Giovanni Labbate: Winning Competitions and Building a ‘Sexy’ Pizza Truck
Labbate said he decided to take the Detroit detour “because of the popularity that Detroit-style has at the moment. We wanted to jump on that momentum, and who doesn’t love the frico edges?”
This wasn’t a half-baked decision. Giovanni and his team spent six months figuring it out. “We did a lot of R&D in house along with calling our fellow pizza-maker family for input,” he said. And although Tievoli’s wood-fired and New York pizzas are hand-tossed elegance, the team wasn’t afraid to parbake these Detroits. “We parbake them like we do our Sicilian pizzas. We do it to help with the rushes.”
As for the dough? Surprisingly streamlined. “Honestly, I wanted to make our process as easy as possible, so we use one master dough for all of our pizza products: our New York-style dough, a 65% hydration and three-day cold ferment.”
Now before the purists break out the pitchforks and blue steel pans, remember: Detroit-style itself is evolving. The classic spongey interiors are getting an upgrade from long, cold ferments and high-hydration experimentation. Some pizza chefs are even making Motown pies with sourdough crust. Is this still Detroit style…or something new entirely? To paraphrase Dr. Ian Malcolm, “Pizza…will find a way.”
Red Tops and Racing Stripes
One of the style’s trademarks is its “racing stripes”—those post-bake lines of red sauce drizzled across the golden cheese surface like a ’69 Charger’s hood. That’s where the name “Red Top” comes from.
For his part, Labbate sticks to the no-sauce-during-bake rule. “We do add hot sauce after,” he explains. He notes that if you must add sauce during the bake, go with something creamy like vodka sauce.
But with this new style comes room for new sauces. Gourmet options like arugula pesto, spicy Calabrian cream, or even balsamic tomato jam are lining up to join the race. That doesn’t mean red sauce is out of the running—it just means it’s got competition now.
Labbate has not only taken the gourmet game to the next level for his New York-style pies, but each of his menu recipes can be made into a Detroit pizza. While there are instructions for specialty pies, the real fun comes when you go rogue and create your own artisan-level pizza with ingredients like truffle cream sauce, roasted chicken, bacon jam or peppadews.
No judgment! This just proves the Detroit style is way more versatile than you might think and possibly deserves a position in your starting lineup.
Customers, Frico Freakouts & First-Timers
Tievoli’s customer base didn’t exactly beg for Detroit-style—but they didn’t need to. Giovanni knew it was time. “Our customers weren’t asking for it, but we felt adding another style of pizza only made sense after two years of being open.” And how do first-timers react? “They love it!”
Considering making the jump to Detroit yourself? “Do tons of research and come up with the best production for your restaurant,” Giovanni advised. For his operation, he said, “We started with 24 pans and moved up from there.” He recommends the classic 10×14 size: “It’s great for takeout and dine-in—not too small, not too big.”
With the logistics dialed in and the oven primed, the question shifts from how to why. Why should Detroit style earn a spot on your menu? Here are five compelling reasons to make room for the Motor City masterpiece.
5 Reasons to Introduce Detroit Style
1. Frico = fame: That crispy crown sells itself on social media and makes your menu stand out.
2. Menu diversity: Offering multiple crust styles satisfies more palates (and adds that upsell magic).
3. Increased profit margins: Bigger pies + premium toppings + specialty appeal = bigger checks.
4. Limited Competition: Most markets don’t have authentic Detroit yet. Be the first.
5. Creative Canvas: The structure allows for fun with gourmet toppings, sauces and presentation.
5 Marketing Moves to Launch Detroit Style
1. Frico Friday: Launch with a weekly special built around that cheesy edge
2. Red Top Reveal: Dramatic slow-motion video of the sauce stripes being applied
3. Free First Slice: Detroit-style “first-timers” get a square on the house.
4. Name That Frico Contest: Let fans name your signature Detroit pie.
5. Instagram Live Bake-Along: Teach your followers the process (and tease those sizzling cheese sounds).
5 Detroit Style Recipes with Saucy Swag
1. The Red Top Classic: Brick cheese, cupped pepperoni, and post-bake signature red sauce stripes (Inspired by Shawn Randazzo’s award-winning style)
2. The Motor City Veggie Dream: Mozzarella, grilled zucchini, roasted garlic, artichoke hearts and post-bake arugula pesto
3. The BBQ Assembly Line: Smoked gouda, chicken thigh confit and caramelized onions, with a baked-on bourbon BBQ sauce
4. Calabrian Cream Dream: Mozzarella, Calabrian chili cream sauce, pancetta and fresh basil (with the sauce baked in)
5. The Breakfast Shift: Cheddar, egg, spicy sausage, hashbrown crust and post-bake herbed hollandaise drizzle (Inspired by Peter Reinhart’s Motor City Hawaiian, flipped for brunch vibes)
Stay in Your Lane—Or Better Yet, Make a New One
Labbate didn’t just add a new pie to the lineup—he rebuilt the engine, swapped in a square chassis, and laid down a fresh coat of red-sauce racing stripes on the hood. Detroit-style isn’t a trend you chase—it’s a muscle car of a pizza that roars off the line, frico blazing and crust rising like a piston in full stride. (That’s what car guys say, right? Pistons? Feels right.)
And while the classics will always have their place—your hand-tossed heroes, your wood-fired thoroughbreds—sometimes the smartest move is pulling into a different lane entirely. One that’s a little bolder. A little louder. And, yeah, a little crispier around the edges. Because when you serve a slice that looks like it left burnout marks on the pan, your customers don’t just take a bite—they buckle up. So get ready to take your pizza game from a slow charging EV to a…carbureted V8 drifting in the fast lane. While I don’t really know what that means, I think I heard it in a movie. One of the Fast and Furious flicks, I would think. Family!
Brian Hernandez is PMQ’s associate editor and director of the U.S. Pizza Team.
