LYNN — Enzo’s Pizzeria, located at 129 Oxford St., was voted the best pizza in the 2024 Pizza Challenge, hosted by Lynn Main Streets.
Residents could buy a Pizza Challenge card for $5 and then buy a $1 slice from the participating pizza shops from Monday, Oct. 7 to Sunday, Oct. 13. They then used their card to vote on their favorite pizza shop.
The participating pizza shops were Caruso’s Pizza, Super Seven Subs, Shoreline Grill & Pizza, Angelina’s Sub Shop, Alfredo’s Italian Kitchen, Superior Roast Beef & Seafood, Fauci’s Pizza, Nick’s Pizza, PapiVivi, Pizza Lovers, and Enzo’s Pizza.
Rosario DeLeon, whose husband is a co-owner of Enzo’s, said the ownership team of the pizza shop was excited to participate in the event, but knew there was competition.
“There’s a lot of good places around, but we’re excited. We’re super, super excited,” she said.
DeLeon and her sister-in-law, Marisol Grande, help run the business with their husbands, Noel DeLeon and Bladimir DeLoen, respectively, who have co-owned the shop since February 2020.
“I called (Noel and Bladimir) and they were really excited,” Rosario DeLeon said. “They couldn’t believe it, because, again, we went up against a lot of good pizza shops.”
Growing up in Lynn, Rosario DeLeon said she always wanted to own a business, and hearing compliments from customers is the best part.
“It feels good when people say, ‘We really like the pizza.’ It means we’re doing a good job,” she said.
She said the Pizza Challenge brought in new customers to try the pizza and old customers to retry it with a more thoughtful bite.
Drew Duperval and Anna Lally, members of Lynn Main Streets’ board, organized the project. Lally said they were supported by the rest of the board, and she also thanked the city councilors and the Mayor’s office for their support.
Lally said she is also one of the administrators for the Facebook group (Official) Lynn Eats, which has been honored by the Chamber of Commerce for helping boost local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lally said she began planning the event in April, after being inspired by Melissa Tasca from Leominster City Hall, who has organized their city-wide pizza challenge for 10 years.
She said more than 400 cards were sold and 156 votes were tallied.
Lally said she tried every pizza and saw smiles from customers and workers at the pizza shops.
“They had a lot of fun. There were a lot of smiles,” she said.
Lally described the Pizza Challenge as a “delicious, affordable, fun-filled family event.”
