Old Scratch Pizza scores national shout-out as ‘Destination’ restaurant

Old Scratch Pizza just collected some tasty publicity from a national magazine that covers the pizza industry.

The 15-month-old restaurant at 800 S. Patterson Blvd. in Dayton was one of three pizza shops nationwide to be featured in Pizza Today's "Destination" column in its January edition. The other two restaurants were in Albuquerque and San Francisco.

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The magazine notes that Old Scratch’s building “used to be an auto parts store. The space is huge, and the picnic-style seating can accommodate 230.”

Old Scratch founder and co-owner Eric Soller called the magazine’s shout-out “pretty exciting, since Pizza Today is the publication of our industry. Being featured in Pizza Today was kind of a ‘bucket list’ item for me.”

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The magazine’s “Destination” feature is not advertising, and Old Scratch did not pay for placement, nor did it initiate contact with Pizza Today, Soller said.

“The magazine reached out to us through Facebook. I was pretty excited when they did,” Soller said. “I believe they research places through their industry connections.”

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The restaurant opened in October 2016. When it wrapped up its first year in business last fall, Soller said he was considering expanding the concept to other locations in the Dayton area.

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“We think we’ve created a place that would work in a lot of other places,” he said.

The 6,000-square-foot pizzeria and beer hall serves Naples-style pizzas cooked in wood-fired ovens, and it features a variety of craft beers on tap as well as a wine and cocktail list. The atmosphere is casual, with seating in the dining area provided by picnic tables.

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Old Scratch Pizza’s “Cones for a Cause” program raised more than $20,000 for Dayton-area non-profit organizations in the restaurant’s first year.

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