Secret Pizza Club Salt Lake City: How a Philadelphia Butcher Created Utah's Most Exclusive Pizza Experience

The first thing you notice isn't the pizza itself—it's the weight of the aluminum sheet pan when Sam Pew slides it across the pickup counter at Leavity Bread & Coffee. Two types of pepperoni curl at the edges, shishito peppers blister between pools of stracciatella cheese, and grana padano creates these thin, crispy ridges where the cheese has caramelized against the pan. The crust underneath is so thin you can see light through it when you hold a slice up, but it doesn't flop. It doesn't bend. It holds.

People are calling it the best pizza they've had in Utah, and when you're competing for one of 90 slots against 200 other people every Thursday at 5:00 PM, you start to understand why.

From Pennsylvania Pizza Shops to Salt Lake City's Secret Scene

Sam Pew started making pizza when he was 15 years old in Pennsylvania pizza shops, learning the craft the old-school way—by watching, by burning his forearms on deck ovens, by understanding that great pizza is as much about patience as it is about technique. He grew up in Philadelphia, where finding authentic New York-style pizza isn't a quest, it's just Tuesday. After spending two years as head butcher at Beltex Meats in Salt Lake City's Liberty Wells neighborhood, Pew returned to Philadelphia to refine his pizza skills, working in different restaurants and traveling through Europe to study traditional techniques.

When he came back to Utah in early 2022, he started making pizzas out of his home and giving them away through Instagram. The response got out of control fast. His wife complained of a kitchen full of pizzas, and people driving through the neighborhood, picking up pizzas and clogging up the street. That's when everyone he knew encouraged him to start an actual pizza business.

The name "Secret Pizza Club" started as a joke. He called it that a couple of times, and people hashtagged it —if you know, you know. The first official meeting happened July 12, 2022, at Arlo in Salt Lake City's Marmalade district. Now, operating out of Leavity Bread & Coffee at 1000 S Main St in the Ballpark neighborhood, the secret is very much out.

The Science Behind Utah's Highest-Rated Pizza

What makes Secret Pizza Club different from the dozens of other pizza options in Salt Lake City isn't just Sam's Philadelphia background or his butchering expertise—it's his obsessive approach to fermentation. He starts with a pre-ferment, like a poolish or a biga, then goes for anywhere from 48 to 72 hours , depending on the hydration. This isn't just technique for technique's sake. Long cold fermentation does three critical things: it develops complex flavors you can't get from same-day dough, it creates a crust structure that's simultaneously crispy and airy, and it makes the pizza more digestible.

When Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy visited in October 2025 and gave Secret Pizza Club an 8.2 rating —the highest score for any pizza in Utah—he immediately recognized what Sam was doing. Portnoy said the inspiration was Angelo's in Philly, calling it superior to anything he'd had in Utah . That 8.2 score isn't just a number; it's validation from someone who's reviewed thousands of pizzas across the country.

Sam went to Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and realized the pizza-making community is actually quite small and tight-knit. Everyone nerds out on pizza, trading tips online, constantly making tweaks . It's a never-ending process.

The Pepper-Roni Experience and What Makes It Worth the Wait

Teresa Heroux had been stalking Sam's Instagram for three weeks before she finally secured a slot. She battled against some 200 others over five days to get a reservation. When that pizza finally arrived—the Pepper-Roni with its two types of pepperoni, shishito peppers, olive oil, basil, oregano, stracciatella, and grana padano—she and her husband David Francis knew immediately that all the effort was worth it.

The pizza is better than any they'd eaten at ubiquitous pizza shops in New York City or Chicago. Part of the allure is the thrill of the chase, Teresa admitted, but after trying a few slices, they learned the fervor wasn't just hype. This pizza is good enough to fight for.

Sam's approach to toppings reflects both his butchering background and his wife's work at the farmers market as an artist. He's always there as well, looking around for seasonal vegetables . The menu stays simple—usually a plain cheese, a pepperoni, and a seasonal pie like the signature Pepper-Roni. But there's nothing simple about the execution.

Behind the scenes, Sam and sous chef Nick Garcia go through about 50 pounds of cheese per night—a combination of mozzarella and gouda that they slice the night before, arranging it like shingles on parchment paper for easy assembly. They work as a rhythmic blur of arms amid scatterings of dusty white flour, grabbing blobs of dough, stretching them, slapping on slices of mozzarella and pouring circles of red tomato sauce and toppings. Over and over again, about 100 times per drop.

Even local pizza enthusiast Jesse Breinholt, who prefers Chicago-style pizza, admits Sam's pizza is really good—high praise from someone who's tried everything Salt Lake's pop-up pizza scene has to offer.

Why Salt Lake City Needed This Pizza

Salt Lake City's pizza reputation has never been great. The city is known for either chain restaurants or Neapolitan-style wood-fired options, which are beautiful in their own right but leave a massive gap for people craving that authentic New York-style slice. There's a lot of pizza in Salt Lake City, but it's almost always either from a chain restaurant or baked Neapolitan-style in a wood-fired oven.

Sam's bringing something different—that bread-baker's approach to making really good dough and using quality ingredients while keeping the heart and soul of a New York slice. New York pizza has a reputation as greasy street food, and yeah, there are plenty of dollar slices in Manhattan. But there are also more pizzerias taking a more bread-baker's approach, making really good doughs, good quality ingredients, but keeping the heart and soul of a New York slice.

Todd Bradley, owner of Leavity Bread & Coffee where Sam operates, gets it. Bradley said Sam is the best and deserves every bit of success he's having and getting. Even though it means losing an employee at the bakery, Bradley encouraged Sam to chase the pizza dream down and quit his bakery gig to focus on pizza full-time.

The Drop Culture and How to Get Your Slice

Here's how the Secret Pizza Club ordering system works: Pre-orders open on Thursdays at 5:00 PM and 5:20 PM for drops on the following Sunday and Tuesday. You need to be ready, phone in hand, refreshing the ordering website at exactly 5:00 PM. Slots go fast—we're talking 200+ people competing for around 90 available reservations.

Each drop produces about 100 pizzas total, with roughly 90 sold through the website pre-order system. Sometimes there are a few pizzas left over for walk-ins, but don't count on it. The smart play is securing your spot during the Thursday pre-order window.

This scarcity model isn't artificial—Sam physically can't make more than 100 pizzas per drop given his current setup at Leavity's kitchen. The space, the ovens, the vent hood—everything has limitations. But that's also what makes it special. There's something about knowing that only 100 other people are going to eat this exact pizza on this exact night.

Sam's considering adding a third night to the rotation as demand continues to grow. But he's also aware of a paradox: How special is a pizza that everyone can get? Still, he stands by his core principle. He believes every neighborhood needs a good mom-and-pop pizza shop.

What's Next: The Brick-and-Mortar Dream

Sam's planning to open a brick-and-mortar location—something around 1,000 square feet, reminiscent of those quintessential East Coast mom-and-pop pizza shops. He promised a new, better way was on the horizon, a brick-and-mortar location where he plans to recreate the quintessential East Coast pizza shop of his youth. The timing is uncertain but imminent.

The biggest challenge has been finding a suitable space. Sam's probably driving real estate agents nuts, but as he says, it's a big commitment. He needs a place already built out with the right equipment for pizza—something that's rare in Salt Lake City's lower-density neighborhoods.

Part of him worries that making the pizza more available will sacrifice some of its appeal. But he's encouraged by the mix of repeat customers at his weekly drops. These aren't just hype-chasers—they're people who genuinely love the pizza and come back week after week when they can snag a slot.

Planning Your Visit to Secret Pizza Club

Current Location: Leavity Bread & Coffee, 1000 S Main St, Salt Lake City (Ballpark neighborhood, near Liberty Park)

Drop Schedule: Sundays and Tuesdays (pre-orders open Thursdays at 5:00 PM and 5:20 PM)

How to Order: Follow @sammakespizza_slc on Instagram for drop announcements and ordering links. Set a phone alarm for 4:59 PM on Thursdays. Have your payment info ready. Be prepared to move fast.

What to Order: Start with the classic cheese to taste Sam's dough and fermentation technique. Graduate to the Pepper-Roni if you want the full experience—two types of pepperoni, shishito peppers, stracciatella, and grana padano. Order the seasonal special if you want to see what Sam found at the farmers market that week.

Price Point: Competitive with other high-quality pizza in Salt Lake City. You're paying for 72-hour fermented dough, premium ingredients, and a pizza that people literally fight for online.

Parking: Street parking available on Main Street and surrounding Ballpark neighborhood streets. Leavity Bread & Coffee has its own parking area as well.

Can't Get a Reservation? Sam recommends Big Apple Pizzeria at 2939 E 3300 South when he's in need of a good New York-style slice. Other solid options in Salt Lake's growing pop-up pizza scene include Baby's Bagels (Pie Boy Pizza) and One Eyed Dog Pizza for Chicago tavern-style.

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Secret Pizza Club isn't just about pizza—it's about a Philadelphia kid who spent 15 years learning the craft, who worked as a butcher understanding meat and quality, who traveled to Europe studying techniques, and who came back to Utah to fill a real gap in Salt Lake City's food scene. The 8.2 rating from Dave Portnoy put a national spotlight on what locals already knew: sometimes the best pizza comes not from a restaurant with a dining room and a host stand, but from someone working out of a borrowed bakery kitchen twice a week, making 100 perfect pies at a time.

If you can't score a reservation, keep trying. The brick-and-mortar is coming. Until then, set that Thursday alarm, keep your phone charged, and get ready to compete for what might be the best slice of New York-style pizza west of Philadelphia.