Pizza makers, suppliers and industry experts packed the Greater Columbus Convention Center this weekend for Pizza Expo Columbus, a two-day trade show that turned downtown into a hub for dough tossing, vendor demos and regional bragging rights. The event, held Sunday and Monday, brought together pizzeria owners with more than 180 suppliers under one roof, alongside pizza-making competitions and hands-on education on the show floor.
As reported by WSYX, the show was billed as a pizza-industry trade show focused on connecting pizzeria owners and other professionals with suppliers and experts, mixing competitions and demonstrations with practical sessions on running a pizzeria more efficiently. The Columbus stop is the newest regional offshoot of a much bigger operation. According to Pizza Today, Pizza Expo Columbus held its inaugural event Oct. 26–27, 2025, as a Midwest expansion of the Las Vegas show, whose legacy spans four decades.
The Great American Pizza Challenge
The weekend's centerpiece competition, the Great American Pizza Challenge, spanned seven divisions and drew entries built around specific regional styles. Pizza Today describes the competition as including a Traditional Thin – Columbus Style division.
That category exists because Columbus has its own distinct pizza identity. Columbus-style pizza traces back to the early 1950s and pizzerias like Massey's and Donatos, according to Experience Columbus, and it is defined by an ultra-thin yeast crust, toppings spread edge to edge without a bare crust ring, provolone cheese and a rectangular party cut. Donatos branded its approach “Edge to Edge.”
Why Columbus Made Sense as a Host City
Columbus is one of America's densest pizza cities per capita, according to PMQ Pizza. That concentration of pizzerias, paired with the local edge-to-edge heritage, gives the Midwest expo a built-in audience of operators eager to compare notes.
Panels Cover Automation and a 50-Year Family Legacy
Programming on the show floor leaned into both heritage and technology. Pizza Today's coverage of the convention noted an October 12 keynote titled “50 Years in Pizza: The Flyers Pizza & Subs Story with the Ulrey Family,” centered on operating lessons from the multi-generational local chain. The session targeted independent operators looking to scale their businesses without losing what made them work in the first place.
Automation was also part of the conversation, and Ohio already has a real-world example on the ground. California Pizza Kitchen has been testing robotic pizza vending machines at Dayton International Airport in 2026, part of a national plan to deploy up to 1,000 automated kiosks, as Hoodline reported. The kiosks use TurboChef ovens to bake 7-inch pizzas in 90 seconds with no restaurant labor involved.
Bill Oakley is Pizza Expo's group show director.
Pizza Momentum Extends Beyond the Convention Floor
The expo's timing lines up with a broader wave of pizza openings around Columbus. Black Pony Pizza, a Detroit-style carryout shop, opened in the Short North neighborhood in September. Central Ohio's dining corridor bordering downtown has also recently welcomed Honey Boy Pizzeria on North High Street. Mikey's Late Night Slice has expanded into Ohio City.
