Ohio pizzeria named 25th-best in the world at international competition

• An Ohio pizzeria named Lievita placed 25th in the world for its cheese pizza at the International Pizza Expo.
• Following the competition, the pizzeria said it has seen a surge in demand and adjusted its hours.
• The official results for the 2026 competition have not yet been posted on the expo’s website.

Tucked away about an hour south of Columbus, one small pizzeria is making big headlines.

Lievita, an Italian-American restaurant in Chillicothe, competed in the 2026 International Pizza Expo Pizza Challenge last week, where it says it beat out hundreds of competitors from across the globe. Its cheese pizza, entered in the Best Cheese Pizza Division, won 25th-best in the world and third-best in the Midwest, according to a Facebook post from the restaurant.

The International Pizza Challenge, which debuted in 2007, is described as the largest and one of the most esteemed pizza-making competitions in North America “and possibly the world,” according to the expo’s website.

The bake-off features 680 of the world’s top pizza-makers baking their signature pizza live at the expo, with pies judged by a panel of renowned and accredited chefs. The competition took place over three days from March 24-26.

This year’s results have not yet been released on the International Pizza Expo’s official website.

A couple days after announcing its victory, Lievita shared that it gained around 700 new followers on Facebook, pushing its audience to over 5,000.

The restaurant, located at 85 N. Paint St., also changed its hours to adjust for the “surge in demand” for its pizza, according to an April 1 post. Lievita will close one hour earlier every day except Sunday to optimize labor hours and better manage inventory and prep to avoid running out of items.

The restaurant’s new hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

This isn’t the first time central Ohio’s pizza has recently picked up national attention. Just a few days ago, the New York Post praised Columbus-style pie in an article about the city’s unique pizza, characterized by a thin crust, toppings to the edge and a square cut.

Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.