Windsor-style pizza

Windsor-style pizza is a Canadian style of pizza characterized by its thin crust using cornmeal and flour, high-fat cheese, shredded pepperoni, and canned mushrooms. It was invented in the late 1950s or early 1960s in Windsor, Ontario, and has become the dominant pizza style in the area. The style remains popular among both current and former residents of Windsor and has occasionally prompted long-distance orders.

Windsor-style pizza

A Windsor-style pizza prior to being baked
Type	Pizza
Place of origin	Canada
Region or state	Windsor, Ontario

Description

Windsor pizzas have a chewy, thick-textured crust made with flour and cornmeal.^[1] The crust is thin but thicker than that of New York–style pizza.^[2] The sauce features a blend of spices with a high amount of oregano.^[1][3] The mozzarella cheese used is high in fat and most pizzerias in Windsor source their cheese from the Windsor-based Galati Cheese Company.^[3] Most of the ingredients are sourced locally.^[1] The pepperoni on Windsor-style pizzas is shredded, done to ensure the pepperoni taste is in every bite and to prevent the formation of grease puddles.^[3][4] Mushrooms used to top Windsor-style pizzas are canned rather than fresh, to prevent burning. The choice of fresh or canned mushrooms remains a personal debate, with people declaring allegiances to one or the other, but rarely both. ^[1]

The most popular type of Windsor-style pizza is the Super, featuring shredded pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, and green peppers.^[2]

History

Windsor-style pizza is believed to have been invented by Volcano Pizzeria, though other restaurants claim to have invented the recipe themselves instead;^[5][6] Volcano Pizzeria was founded by cousins Gino Manza and Frank Gualtieri.^[7] It was originally a diner selling Italian food before becoming the first Windsor restaurant to serve pizza in either 1957^[8] or the early 1960s,^[6] around when other pizzerias began to operate in the city.^[6][8] Some pizzerias in Windsor have confirmed they trace their recipe back to Volcano Pizzeria.^[6]

Other restaurants that have been associated with the Windsor-style pizza include Sam's Pizzeria and Mario’s Restaurant. The former, established in 1947, was not identified as a pizzeria until 1960. The latter, established in 1940, became identified as a pizzeria only in 1964. In 1960, Capri Pizzeria was also identified in the Windsor business directory. The number of pizzerias in the city increased in subsequent years, as the dish became more popular in Canada.^[8]

By the mid-1980s, the style had become beloved among locals, and Americans regularly visited Windsor pizzerias.^[9] The pizza market in Windsor had become very competitive and some chains like Little Caesars could not survive in Windsor.^[9] A 1992 Windsor Star article stated Windsor had started the trend of flatbread pizza in Canada.^[10]

Impact

Capri Pizzeria, one of several pizzeria chains based in Windsor

Due to the popularity of Windsor-style pizza in Windsor, most pizzerias in Windsor are locally owned rather than part of a national chain.^[1] In 2024, Postmedia ran a poll which found Windsor to be its readers' favourite Canadian pizza city.^[5] According to the 2022 documentary The Pizza City You've Never Heard of, Windsor has the most pizzerias per capita in Canada.^[2] Galati Cheese manager Peter Piazza stated to the National Post in 2024 that the city has approximately 200 pizzerias.^[2] Windsor-style pizzerias have opened in Calgary^[11] and Toronto.^[12] Former Windsorites have ordered pizzas from thousands of kilometres away, which one pizzeria owner stated occurred at least a few times every month.^[13][14][15]

Windsor-style pizza by Armando's received third place in the 2013 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas; Armando's chef Dean Litster was later named 2018 Chef of the Year by Canadian Pizza Mag.^[8] In 2020, music promoters George Kalivas and Tristan Laughton made The Pizza City You've Never Heard of, a documentary about Windsor's pizza, believing it stood among the best pizza cities worldwide.^[16] The documentary was released in 2022.^[17] In 2024, a post showing the shredded pepperoni went viral on X, sparking an online debate over it.^[17]