Indiana pizza history

HoosierKettle · December 09, 2017, 05:40:29 AM

Everyone has had and heard of New York style and Chicago style pizza but not many know about Indiana style pizza. I was just out to eat with friends at a indiana pizza restaurant called Greeks. I was surprised to learn that all of the other Indiana natives at the table did not know which pizza places where founded and primarily remain in Indiana.

In my opinion, the finest example of Indiana style pizza is Pizza king. Pizza King was founded in 1956 in Lafayette, in. It was followed by Arnie's in 1965 also in Lafayette, in. Both pizza king and Arnie's are a thin crust pizza with edge to edge toppings. Normally square cut slices with finely chopped pepperoni and/or sausage.

These were followed by Greeks pizzeria in 1969 in Valparaiso, in. Greeks is more of a hand tossed and is good but I feel both pizza king and Arnie's better exemplify Indiana pizza.

This will be the focus of my next pizzas I make.

So there you go. If you find yourself driving through Indiana, try to find a pizza king and try it out. They are normally easier to find in Indianapolis and in all of the small and big towns north of Indianapolis.

Edit: this is a picture of a pizza king pizza for reference. I did not make it.

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LiquidOcelot · December 09, 2017, 08:47:39 AM

now that's a pizza

RumBar · December 09, 2017, 09:14:22 AM

Pizza King is head and shoulders above all other chains.

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Bubblehead · December 09, 2017, 09:16:32 AM

Fine looking pie!

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HoosierKettle · December 09, 2017, 09:24:35 AM

That is a stock photo of a pizza king pizza for reference. I did not make it.

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Old Dave · December 09, 2017, 03:54:50 PM

We had a very early Pizza King (1958-1959) in Plainfield, Indiana and was a popular place when I was in high school many years ago. I believe it was the first chain pizza place in my area although there were some other joints on the West side of Indy at the time that were private and not part of a chain. Brings back some old memories...

HoosierKettle · December 09, 2017, 05:56:17 PM

Quote from: Old Dave on December 09, 2017, 03:54:50 PM
We had a very early Pizza King (1958-1959) in Plainfield, Indiana and was a popular place when I was in high school many years ago. I believe it was the first chain pizza place in my area although there were some other joints on the West side of Indy at the time that were private and not part of a chain. Brings back some old memories...

Do you still live in Indiana? You've got some really cool stuff on your blog.

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Old Dave · December 09, 2017, 09:30:52 PM

Do you still live in Indiana? You've got some really cool stuff on your blog.

Yes, I still do live in Indiana near the small town of Coatesville which is about 30 miles West of Indy. And thanks for the comments on my blog as they are appreciated.

Dave

Davescprktl · December 10, 2017, 04:32:21 AM

Small world. I lived in Lafayette when I was a kid and my brother still lives in Valpo.

Brain_STL · December 10, 2017, 01:05:32 PM

I grew up in Floyds Knobs, In and Pizza King was a huge part of my memories. I remember when my 8th grade school year ended a few of my buddies and I would ride our bikes to a strawberry patch at 6am and pick them till noon and get paid by the gallon. When we finished we would ride our bikes, with our days earnings in hand, to Gibson's market and by baseball cards then go across the street to Pizza King and order a pizza for lunch. Man, were those some great times!!!

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AnyThingGrilled · December 10, 2017, 01:17:31 PM

Meet you at Arnie's!

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HoosierKettle · December 10, 2017, 01:45:41 PM

Quote from: Brain_STL on December 10, 2017, 01:05:32 PM
I grew up in Floyds Knobs, In and Pizza King was a huge part of my memories. I remember when my 8th grade school year ended a few of my buddies and I would ride our bikes to a strawberry patch at 6am and pick them till noon and get paid by the gallon. When we finished we would ride our bikes, with our days earnings in hand, to Gibson's market and by baseball cards then go across the street to Pizza King and order a pizza for lunch. Man, were those some great times!!!

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Very cool memory. I didn't realize pizza king were down that way as well. I just tried googling all of their locations which is harder than it sounds. Some of the maps showed some in Kentucky as well. Give a shout out if your in southern Indiana and Kentucky or elsewhere and let us know where they are all at.

Did your pizza king have arcade games?

We stop at the greensburg pizza king every year when we cut our Christmas tree down in new point. They have a small arcade room that myself and the kids play games at while waiting. They have pole position! My kids are 21 and 18 but still amuse me by playing them with me.

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JEBIV · December 12, 2017, 03:05:46 AM

Some cool history on Indiana pizza

wtsnxj · December 12, 2017, 05:35:10 PM

There is at least one in evansville, In. They make a damn fine stromboli also!!

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blksabbath · December 14, 2017, 03:17:29 AM

I just asked my Hoosier wife about it. "I think They had one in Winchester where my parents were from. There was a bbq pizza they liked."

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Indiana pizza history