Reeti Malhotra, Contributing Photographer

Pizza, music and art — New Haven’s ninth annual Apizza Feast, hosted this past Friday along College Street from 4 to 10 p.m., could only be described as a pizza lover’s dream.

Run by Taste of New Haven Food and Drink Tours — a New Haven-based organization focused on connecting people with the city’s history, food, and culture — the Apizza Feast featured over 35 pizza, beer and craft vendors from Connecticut and beyond. 

“It’s great to get out of our regular restaurant and see the masses,” Mackenzie Carey, first-time festival attendee and owner of the Parlor Joint — a New Haven pizza-style restaurant based in Stratford, Conn. — said. “It’s not so much about the revenue for us. It’s more about getting our name out there and reminding people to come out.”

Food and beverage vendors reported having approximately $1000 in fees and permits to attend and sell at the Apizza Feast. 

Customers enjoyed free entry to the Apizza Feast. Between 15,000 to 20,000 people are expected to have been in attendance during the festival’s six-hour duration. 

“There’s lots of competition [with pizza] in New Haven. The festival is a chance for good promotion, good marketing, and a chance to meet good people,” Sabri Gebril, owner of Est Est Est Pizza in downtown New Haven, said.

New Haven’s signature pizza style, “Apizza” — pronounced “a-beets”, per the Neapolitan dialect and the Neapolitan immigrants who pioneered its introduction to New Haven — originated at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in 1925. It was popularized by similar parlors, including Sally’s Apizza, during the 20th century.

New Haven was crowned the pizza capital of the United States on May 22, 2023, in Washington. Gebril and Louise Joseph, New Haven local and owner of pizza truck Dough Girls on the Go, who was selling at the feast, attended the ceremony.

“New Haven pizza is unique because of its history. We had Pepe’s and Sally’s. We got the coal ovens with the char and smokiness. I mean, New York has great pizza, but so does New Haven,” Joseph said.

Beyond pizza, attendees also enjoyed free entertainment by the New York-based family musical act Quarantined Quartet and serenades from New Orleans singer Greg Banks.

New Haven boasts over 75 pizza-making establishments.