Marion’s named ‘No. 2’ on Pizza Today’s ‘Hot 100’ list

This is the 7th straight year the Dayton-based pizza chain captured one of top 2 spots from trade publication

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

What to Know
By Mark Fisher
Nov 1, 2019
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Marion's Piazza has been named No. 2 in Pizza Today's "Hot 100" list,  the seventh year in a row that the Dayton-based chain was ranked in the top two.

>> BEST OF DAYTON: Marion’s voted No. 1 Best Pizza in Dayton

Each year, the magazine ranks the largest independently owned pizza operations in the U.S. based on sales. Marion's reported $21,641,138 in gross annual sales, narrowly missing the top spot behind San Diego-based Woodstock's Pizza, which reported about $22.5 million in annual sales.

>> ALSO NEW TODAY: New pizza place called 'Riverside Hideaway' in the works at landmark former bar

Marion’s has ranked No. 1 on this sales-based list the past three years, and five out of the last seven years. It first topped the list in 2013, repeated in 2014, was ranked second in 2015, and claimed the top spot for three consecutive years until this year. Top-selling San Diego-based Woodstock’s Pizza operates eight locations.

>> How Marion’s pizza became legendary in Dayton 

>> RELATED: Dayton named a top 10 city for pizza lovers (August 2016)

The magazine mails out surveys to independent pizzerias across the nation that operate nine or fewer restaurants to rank independent restaurant chains based on sales. Marion’s operates nine pizza restaurants in the Dayton/northern Cincinnati area. Marion’s smallest restaurant seats 275, and six of its nine restaurants seat more than 500, CEO Roger Glass told the pizza trade publication in 2013.

>> The best places to get pizza in Dayton

Marion’s Piazza was one of 11 Ohio-based chains to make the magazine’s “Top 100” list, and the only one based in the Dayton region.

>> ‘BEST THING I EVER ATE:’ Dayton restaurant scores Cooking Channel shout-out

Pizza Today’s editors have said the list “is a testament to the ingenuity, diligence and skill of the pizzeria owners who make the grade.”

>> The secret behind how Marion’s makes its crave-worthy square-cut pizza

“Making our list is quite an accomplishment,” Pizza Today Editor-in-Chief Jeremy White said last year in a release. “Making it here isn’t easy — it’s a testament to many factors such as great food and service, solid marketing and old-fashioned hard work. The pizzerias on our Hot 100 list have managed to really set themselves apart from the competition.”

RELATED: Marion’s named No. 1 independent pizzeria in the country (October 2013) 

Marion’s Piazza was founded in 1965.

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

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About the Author

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.