NESQUEHONING, Pa. — Tucked away on East Columbus Street in Nesquehoning, down a flight of stairs, is a hidden gem.
"Best darn pizza you can buy. I'll tell you that right now."
New Columbus Pizza has worked out of this kitchen in the basement of the Cerimele home, which started as a catering business in 1958.
"It's our house, it's the homestead. So, this has always been a commercial kitchen here in the basement, and I just wanted to keep the tradition going," said owner Tony Cerimele.
Now, it's a pizzeria open one day a week, cranking out about 100 pizzas, all ordered ahead of time.
"We're just blessed in town to be able to say that Cerimele pizza comes from New Columbus Nesquehoning," said Lois Kuba of Nesquehoning.
Nesquehoning's best-kept secret may not be a secret for much longer.
Owner Tony Cerimele just won two major awards from the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. He was named best pan pizza and world champion pizza maker.
"I went from almost last to first. Last year wasn't the greatest showing for me. I was determined after a year. I kind of wanted to be done with it after that, and I said I'll do it one more time, so I worked on this pizza for a year," explained Cerimele.
That dedication paid off.
"The winning one was finished with pepperoni jam, made by my buddy in Texas, Lee Hunsicker and a honey whipped ricotta, some basil and extra virgin olive oil, it's actually very simple. It's not a crazy pizza at all," Said Cerimele.
"Put 100 pizzas up. You will pick the Cerimele's pizza out," said Kuba.
"It really hasn't sunk in yet what it means. I'm just glad to bring something back home to Nesquehoning. Back to north Eastern Pennsylvania," said Cerimele.
New Columbus Pizza plans to put this award-winning pizza on its menu.