Sam Costello knew the pizza he made at Gracie See’s Pizzeria in Inkster was the best around, and now, he can prove it.
Costello, who along with his father, Tom, traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Expo last week, took away top honors for the North American continent, finishing second only to the country of Italy for the international portion of the showdown.
Gracie’s owners hope that the new designation will bring pizza lovers into the Michigan Avenue location.
“We’re proud of the award, there’s no doubt about it,” said Sam Costello from his restaurant last week.
“We’ve been doing this for many, many years – we use all fresh ingredients, and that sets us apart from other pizzas you would get at other places,” he added.
The pizzeria opened in Inkster about three years ago, but has been a fixture in Detroit since it first opened in 1968. Like the Detroit location, the Inkster eatery boasts a healthy dose of Italian authenticity, from the posters of Italian-American actors and celebrities like Al Pacino and Frank Sinatra, to the kitschy T-shirts that read, “I Whacked the Godfather” that are on display, or for sale.
The atmosphere and the history are part of what led the pizzeria to victory last week in Las Vegas, Sam Costello said.
“We put a lot of work into what we do,” he said.
This year, 70 pizzerias took part in the competition. The businesses were broken down by group – Gracie’s took the first-place sport for the Mid-Americas classification. On the second day of the competition, the winners of each sub-group went head-to-head by making a meat lover’s special. An Italian pie came out on top, but Sam Costello said that not surprising.
Costello took home a $2,500 prize, but the win isn’t necessarily about the money, he said.
“Every business that has done well in this competition has seen a boom in their business,” he said. “This is more about the exposure than it is about the prize.”
There will be quite a bit of exposure. In several months, the competition will be highlighted on the Food Network, which means the business will receive a plug in thousands of local households that subscribe to basic cable.
Costello hopes the exposure will bring new customers to both locations, though he said business is moving along nicely in both Detroit and Inkster.
“In Inkster, we do mostly carry-out business instead of sit-down business, and it’s pretty much the opposite in Detroit,” he said.
John Ambiuzzino, a longtime customer, said he often stops at Gracie’s for the pizza.
“It’s the best around,” he said. “I can see why they won the award.”
Though the award is a shot in the arm for the business, Costello said his immediate plans for the Inkster business is to keep doing what they’ve been at for more than 40 years – making pizza that is cooked with the not-so-secret ingredient of Italian pride.
“The best thing about our pizza is that we enjoy making it,” Costello said.
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