DeLucia's Is Still Selling Out Of Pizzas 8 Months After Nearly Perfect Barstool Review

RARITAN, NJ — It took 105 years but Delucia's Brick Oven Pizza finally got the recognition it deserved after the best-tasting slice internet celebrity Dave "El Pres" Portnoy gave them a near-perfect review in January.

"It's awesome," Christian DeLucia, fourth-generation owner of the pizzeria at 3 1st Ave. in Raritan said of the review. "But it's a shame it took this long... for this to happen. But I'm very happy for everybody before me that they finally got the recognition that they've deserved forever. You got three generations before me that worked their ass off for so long and never really got any kind of recognition."

Now 8 months later, DeLucia's is still selling out of pizza pies.

"Life-changing is an understatement. Literally," said Christian DeLucia, fourth-generation owner of the pizzeria, at 3 1st Ave. in Raritan.

History

The pizzeria was founded by DeLucia's great grandfather Constantino DeLucia in 1917. He immigrated from Naples, Italy and learned his trade in New York City before eventually making his way out to Raritan, said DeLucia.

After Constantino, DeLucia's grandfather took over before handing it to DeLucia's father and uncle. DeLucia worked for them both before his uncle was bought out and then inherited it when his father died in 2015.

To this day the fundamental recipe for their regular pizza remains the same.

"However, my great grandfather did it is how I was taught," said DeLucia. "I branched off with a couple of different pies on our menu but like if you are ordering a pepperoni pizza it's just like how grandpa made."

Review

Portnoy, a self-proclaimed pizza expert and founder of Barstool Sports, stopped by the Raritan pizzeria in January. He scored the pizza a 9.4 out of 10 and called it "spectacular" making DeLucia's among the top 4 rated in the country by Portnoy. Read More: Raritan Pizza Spot Gets Nearly Perfect Review By Barstool Founder

"Once he dropped the score it was just mayhem," said DeLucia.

For a century, DeLucia's business solely came from word of mouth.

"Seriously none of us ever really paid for advertising," said DeLucia.

That all changed when Portnoy shared his review.

"Five minutes after the review dropped I got people calling me from California, Oklahoma. The next morning I got a call and a congratulations from some man in Australia. It is wild, very very surreal," said DeLucia.

Foodies are so eager to try DeLucia's pizza they are traveling from across the country. DeLucia has seen people fly in from Las Vegas, Texas, Los Angelos, Canada, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio.

"We had two guys who came and got a hotel room just to come here. It's wild," said DeLucia.

Selling Out

After the review, DeLucia would get phone calls from customers wanting to order as early as 7:30 a.m. or lining up outside. It has since died down but they are still selling out.

"The whole sell-out thing is that a person is only supposed to work so many hours a day so I have never once run out of a ball of dough or pepperoni or any product. I run out of time," said DeLucia.

DeLucia said the time element is directly connected to his 96-year-old brick oven. That very brick oven has been "very well seasoned" over time and is the secret to their delicious pies.

His oven is very unique. He doesn't have any wood, coal, or fire inside. He builds up the heat by burning oils and shooting a fire in there. He builds the heat up and then kills it, and lets his bricks do all the work.

"So the more times that I open up and close that door the more heat that comes out. So at some point, I am going to compromise my product and I can't. I refuse to do any such thing," said DeLucia.

When asked if he had plans on expansion to keep up with the demand. DeLucia said no.

"I am a ma and pa shop and that's how it's gotta stay. I want to stay as close to what my family brought to everybody. I don't want to change it," said DeLucia.

Overall, DeLucia comes into the pizzeria before it opens and whips up pies to be frozen and sold at local Stop and Shops, ShopRites, bars, etc. He makes about 370 frozen pies a week and they are always sold out.

On top of the frozen pies, he makes about 300 hot pies a day.

How to get a pie

Since the review, DeLucia had to deactivate his online ordering service because of the demand. People still call at all hours of the day to order and begin gathering out front before it opens. So how do you get your hands on a pie?

Order a pie during operating hours only and order early.

"I only answer my phone during hours of operation. I'm here at 6:30 a.m. and had someone call at 7:30 a.m.," said DeLucia.

For the best chance, call between noon and 2 p.m. Walk-ins are also welcomed but not guaranteed.

"If you call at 5 p.m. most likely I will have 50 pies to make before yours," said DeLucia.

The wait time ranges anywhere between 15 minutes to 3 hours.

"You can't call me when you are hungry anymore. You have to plan on eating pizza. Unfortunately, I feel really bad saying those words coming out of my mouth," said DeLucia.

DeLucia's favorite pie is his Italian Sausage. The best seller remains the plain cheese because of Portnoy. Pepperoni is right behind plain, but that's only because people don't know how good DeLucia's sausage is, he joked.

To order a pie call 908-725-1322. For more information visit deluciasbrickovenpizza.com or facebook.com/deluciasbrickovenpizza.

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