Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

In August, John Vigliotti, owner of Peppino’s Pizzeria on Grant Boulevard in Syracuse, was listening to a podcast where a former International Pizza Expo judge wondered why restaurants don’t make original cheese pizzas anymore. After hearing the episode, Vigliotti wanted to experiment with his own classic cheese.

“That’s what made him get into the kitchen and start playing around,” Peppino’s director of marketing Anick Sinclair said.

Two weeks later, Vigliotti claimed victory with his cheese pizza, the PPP pizza, in the traditional division for the Northeast Region at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Competitors in the traditional category can only present dough, cheese, red sauce and up to two classic ingredients, such as sausage, pepperoni, olives, onions and peppers.

The International Pizza Expo is the largest pizza show in the world, attracting pizzeria owners, food suppliers, equipment manufacturers and industry leaders from across the country. Last year, in 2020, the show was canceled because COVID-19 restricted large gatherings and caused travel concerns, according to the International Pizza Expo website. This year’s competition was postponed until August for attendees and exhibitors.

The name of the pizza, PPP, is a nod to the Paycheck Protection Program, which helped businesses support their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vigliotti said that the program “keeps my staff here and happy.”

The pizza dough is Vigliotti’s own recipe. It undergoes a three-day fermentation process to achieve its complex flavor, and he still fine-tunes it daily to account for temperature and humidity changes. To ensure the dough would be ready for the show, Vigliotti had to FedEx a portion of his dough to Vegas while flying with another dough to present at the expo. The dough is particularly important in a cheese pizza, as there are only a few ingredients to show, Sinclair said.

“It’s quite something to have won an award for a cheese pizza,” Sinclair said. “Cheese pizza is a very naked thing. You can’t elaborate much more than the three ingredients.”

The award-winning pizza features a combination of sharp provolone, grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese. The signature sauce is made from piennolo tomatoes, which are grown near Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy, and provide a much sweeter taste. Unlike a typical cheese pie, the sauce is added on top of the cheese in small sections.

“Each bite is not identical,” Sinclair said. “There’s a lot of the pizza that you’re going to bite into that’s not going to have tomato on it.”

This is not the first time Vigliotti has left Vegas with a title under his belt. In 2016, he placed second internationally in the traditional division at the expo with his PS2 Pie, a pizza with two types of sausage and pepperoni.

Vigliotti grew up two blocks away from the original Peppino’s Restaurant and Catering Company but did not enter the restaurant until his adulthood. Almost every meal Vigliotti ate growing up as part of a family of Italian immigrants was homemade. The occasional meal out was at his uncle’s pizzeria, he said.

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director Courtesy of Anick Sinclair

But, in 1997, Vigliotti bought the pizzeria and has since built a new family-run pizzeria legacy. Vigliotti has three sons who used to run around the store as children and have since joined him in building the restaurant.

“It was an honor to take over a family business, and it was an honor to take it over in the neighborhood I grew up in,” Vigliotti said.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Peppino’s continues to serve its customers with fresh, high-quality ingredients. “We always strive to put out the best quality possible,” Vigliotti said.

Peppino’s has also contributed to the Syracuse community over the years through fundraisers, local events and benefits. During the pandemic, Peppino’s donated pizza to health care workers in the Syracuse area. Vigliotti strives to give back to the community that supports his restaurant.

“Historically, that’s a byproduct of a family-run business,” Sinclair said. “It’s very important to be a part of the community and give back.”

Published on September 15, 2021 at 12:39 am