By Charlie Pogacar
Founded in 2017 by Italian food journalists, 50 Top Pizza has become the Michelin Guide of pizza restaurants. The goal of the guide, which started rating Northern American pizzerias in 2021, is to identify and celebrate excellence in the pizza space.
So what’s it’s like to be named to the guide? How does it change one’s life, or promote one’s pizza business? These were topics of discussion at a special panel during PMQ’s Pizza Power Forum, which took place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Sept. 4 and 5. The panel, “The Secrets of a 50 Top Pizza Restaurant,” featured three different speakers who own or are affiliated with a pizzeria that was selected to this year’s list. The panelists were:
–Peyton Smith, owner/operator of Mission Pizza Napoletana (Winston-Salem, NC). Mission Pizza Napoletana has been a mainstay on 50 Top Pizza USA since its inception, and ranked 21st in 2024.
Related: How 50 Top Pizza Selects the Best Pizzerias in the World
–Janet Zapata, owner/operator of 550° Pizzeria (Laredo, TX). 550° Pizzeria was featured on 50 Top Pizza’s “Excellent Pizzerias,” a new list, released for the first time in 2024, that also featured the likes of Pizzeria Bianco.
–Juan G. Perez, executive chef, Posto (Somerville, MA). Posto ranked 41st on 50 Top Pizza USA in 2024. It was the Boston-area pizzeria’s second straight appearance on the list. Perez, who has worked at Posto for over 10 years, has built up hundreds of thousands of followers across social media channels as a pizza-making influencer.
The first thing you should know about making the 50 Top Pizza list is how the list is assembled. First, a survey goes out to different areas of the world. In the case of the U.S.-based list, the survey is used to narrow down the places that designated judges end up visiting. Judges dine anonymously. So anonymously, it turns out, that all three panelists—Smith, Zapata, and Perez—were surprised to learn they’d made the list the first time they did so.
“I actually always wondered how you make that list,” Perez said at the Pizza Power Forum. “And one time we were in a meeting and somebody was like, ‘yeah, I actually got this 50 Top Pizza email, but I’m pretty sure it was a scam so I threw it away.’ And I was like, ‘wait, show me the email!’ And it turned out it wasn’t a scam.”
Zapata found out the good news via a screenshot from a friend. “I was at the gym when they sent it to me,” Zapata said. “And I was like, ‘What? Is this real?’ I couldn’t believe it.”
“Frankly, I’m kind of incredulous that anyone’s ever been to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for any reason,” Smith joked. “But so be it.”
According to the three panelists, there wasn’t any true “secret” to their success. They believed their path to be considered for and eventually making the list was achieved via consistency and authenticity. Perez said he encourages his staff to treat every single meal like it’s being served to somebody who is judging the restaurant. Because, in a way, it is.
“You don’t know when they’re coming,” Perez said. “So I always tell my people, just do the best you can.”
For Smith, making the list is a testament to the operators who have stayed true to a vision. The ones who didn’t set out to be a part of any list, necessarily, but are rather cooking with passion and intent and trying to make the best possible pizza they can rather than worrying about how it’s going to be received by the general public. And worrying about any judge who may or may not appear in the dining room? That won’t necessarily get you to where you’re trying to go, Smith said.
“I think that’s a common denominator among the group in general and the people that are recognized: the bulk of those people are just doing whatever the heck they want to do,” Smith said. “And I don’t mean in a casual way that’s anathema to being in business and asking to trade money for service. But in terms of their intent, in terms of their point of view, having something to say: it ends up being expressed on the plate as a sincere, high-integrity product.”
All of the panelists added that making such a list would not be possible without an excellent team of people. “People come in and ask [my staff], ‘How does it feel to be working at a place [that received such an honor]?’” Zapata said. “Because it’s not just me, it’s everybody that got awarded [by 50 Top Pizza].”
Perez concurred, adding that the recognition is a testament to the professionalism of his staff at Posto. “Education is one of the most important things you can do for your staff,” Perez said. “Once they understand what they’re selling and can speak to the quality and commitment to it, then they’re going to do [their job] that much better.”
There’s some pressure that comes with being on the list. All panelists said that making the list also makes you want to never not be on future lists. At the same time, Smith added, it’s not like becoming a 50 Top Pizza Restaurant is going to change your life, or suddenly ramp up sales in some crazy way.
“It’s more like being on the list, and being surrounded by high-performing people is really infectious,” Smith said. “If you want to sprint fast, you have to run against some fast people.”
“You don’t work in a restaurant because you want to be on a list,” Perez said. “You do it because you want to give people the best product every single day, no matter what.”