DiCarlo's Pizza set to bring piece of Ohio Valley to uptown Westerville with July 1 grand opening

DiCarlo’s Pizza franchisees Michael and Sarah Carlson showed eagerness to share a slice of the Ohio Valley with customers beginning July 1 from their new shop at 20 S. State St. in uptown Westerville.

Michael Carlson said they have been receiving about 50 calls a day and fan mail dropped off in their mailbox in anticipation of the opening that has been delayed for months because of multiple reasons.

“We did a full renovation, from polishing the floors to brand new ceilings, new HVAC, new wires, new electric,” he said. “It has been eight months. We basically took this 1945 building and redid it up to code. We had a lot of hiccups. We have a 10-year lease here, so we’re here for the long term.”

He said DiCarlo’s, founded in 1945 in Steubenville, is popular because it’s what the people in the Ohio Valley grew up with.

“Back in the Ohio Valley, there’s a lot of people that just knew this as their pizza, just like people in Columbus know Donatos or Massey’s as their pizza,” Michael Carlson said. “In the Ohio Valley, DiCarlo’s is the original. From this style, it created a whole new trend called Ohio Valley pizza, which other people imitated to do this style.”

He said the style is a crunchy crust that’s twice baked.

“It’s baked with just dough and sauce,” he said. “The cheese and pepperoni are applied after the bake. That’s what’s unique about it. It’s flaky, airy. It’s not super thick and it’s made fresh every day. For people in the Ohio Valley, they know it as their comfort food.”

Fans on DiCarlo’s Facebook page have been waiting with great anticipation.

“Westerville resident-Wheeling transplant patiently waiting to be a VERY regular customer,” wrote Chris Voyiatt. “Guessing…and since January, supply issues, oven etc. has been a challenge for sure. Can’t wait!”

“Also Wheeling transplant,” said Angela Maria. “Can’t wait! We love DiCarlo’s.”

Lori Gulan-Hamrock said she and her husband are from Steubenville and can't wait. “Been residents of Westerville since 1993,” she said.

Carlson said he’s involved as a partner in Three Anchors, LLC, which has the license rights to DiCarlo's Pizza in Westerville, and his wife, Sarah, is the managing partner.

Sarah Carlson said her mom is from Wheeling, so she grew up eating DiCarlo’s there.

“This was childhood pizza for me, too, even though I’m from here,” Sarah Carlson said. “We hope this gets to be like a hometown pizza for people here. You can get it by the slice. It’s just its own unique, fun, little different thing. It’s special.”

Michael Carlson said the process to make the popular pizza involves making dough balls that rise overnight.

“We take the dough made yesterday, then every morning, we stretch the dough and put it in a pan,” he said. “We take our sauce that’s made every day, too. We take one 16-ounce ladle of sauce and spread it on (the crust) and bake 10 minutes. We let it sit a few minutes, then we add more sauce and bake another eight minutes and add cheese and pepperoni.

"Everything about DiCarlo’s is handmade. We touch everything. There’s no freezer. Everything is made fresh daily. We take 11-pound blocks of cheese and we fresh grate it. A lot of pizza places today, they buy cheese already grated. There’s something really great about fresh grated cheese.”

Also on the menu is pepperoni rolls.

“We will have take-and-bakes you reheat at home,” he said. “We have a grab-and-go cooler. We sell pizza by the twos. One box holds six slices. A tray is 24.”

DiCarlo’s is to be available for carryout with limited outside patio seating.

Michael Carlson said they also have a separate business besides DiCarlo’s called The Ria Room.

“This is going to be a space people can rent,” he said. “The Ria Room is a play on 'pizzeria.' We imagine birthday parties and baby showers in this room that's 650 square feet. The most interest has come from businesses. A cooking class was done (here) with six people. We’re going to open it up on Fourth Fridays as a place to sit down. This room is for anyone who needs a little space."

More information can be found on its website, theriauptown.com.

DiCarlo's business hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1 to 7 p.m. Sundays.

Customers can order ahead at dicarlospizza.com or call  614-800-6422.

mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekMarla

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: DiCarlo's Pizza set to bring piece of Ohio Valley to uptown Westerville with July 1 grand opening