A new pizzeria slinging Detroit-style deep-dish pies named after Kentucky Derby winners has opened at the corner of High Street and West Starr Avenue in Columbus' Short North. Black Pony Pizza, run by longtime friends Ryan Murphy and Ken Shick, officially opened its doors Sept. 17 at 1001 N. High St., serving whole pies for carryout and catering.
The opening was more than two years in the making, following the restaurant's initial announcement on Instagram, according to Columbus Underground. Murphy handles the pizza-making and culinary side of the business, while Shick manages operations, according to 614now. The pair chose the Short North in part because its walkability suited a carryout-focused model, per the same Columbus Underground report.
From Halo Clan Tag to Pizza Shop
The Black Pony name has roots that go back further than the pizza itself. Per NBC4, childhood friends of Murphy and Shick once imagined a business called Black Pony Industries, and the initials BPI later became the pair's clan tag while playing Halo. Murphy, who has spent more than a decade working in commercial kitchens, began experimenting with pizza during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he and Shick started planning the restaurant in early 2021, according to the station's report.
Murphy landed on Detroit-style pizza specifically because of its crust and pan-shaping process, per the same account. Detroit-style pizza is the style Black Pony serves. Murphy still runs Black Pony Pizza full-time, while Shick, who works in finance at JPMorgan Chase, helps out after his own workday, and friends pitch in at the register and elsewhere during service, according to the station.
Five House Pies and a Rotating Special
Black Pony's main menu features five house recipes, according to Black Pony Pizza's website, alongside a build-your-own option and a regularly rotating featured pie, per NBC4. The lineup includes the I'll Have Another, topped with pepperoni, herbed ricotta, balsamic drizzle and basil, and the Street Sense, made with carnitas, pickled red onion, cotija cheese, chimichurri and cilantro, both named for past Kentucky Derby winners alongside pies referencing Always Dreaming, Venetian Way and Dark Star, per the station's reporting.
The current featured pizza, the Fusaichi Pegasus, is topped with char siu pork, strawberry-sumac jam, charred scallions and burrata over an olive oil base, according to NBC4. It stands as the restaurant's first rotating pie, and 614now notes that Black Pony plans to regularly introduce new recipes, with the most popular versions making more frequent appearances on the menu. The website adds that limited-quantity items may also show up from time to time.
A Two-Day Crust and a Sold-Out Opening Weekend
Getting the crust right takes two full days, according to NBC4. Murphy prepares the dough by mixing and folding it, refrigerating it for 24 hours, and letting it rise at room temperature directly in its baking pan, per the station's account. He then par-bakes the crusts, a step that provides greater consistency when producing hundreds of pizzas, NBC4 reports.
That process appears to have paid off in the pizzeria's first days. By the end of opening Sunday, only four or five prepared crusts remained, according to NBC4. “It could not have gone better,” Murphy told the station, adding that Black Pony hit every number the owners wanted to hit. He said his goal is simple: make good and fun pizza, and give people a good time eating it.
Black Pony Pizza takes orders in-store or online and is open four days a week for now: Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to 614now. The pizzeria joins a growing Detroit-style scene in Columbus that includes Yellow Brick Pizza's blend of Detroit and Sicilian styles, per Columbus Navigator.
