Business is booming for West Newton's Bloom Brew after winning Pittsburgh pizza contest
A small brewery and eatery in West Newton has won one of Pittsburgh's longest-running pizza contests and now they're seeing a boom in business that they never expected would happen.
It's the story of Bloom going boom: A simple pepperoni pizza from Bloom Brew in small-town West Newton won the Star Pittsburgh 100.7 2025 Best Pizza in Pittsburgh contest and now, less than two weeks later, people are lining up to try a slice of their award-winning pie.
"Unless you already knew we were here, a lot of people have never heard of where West Newton is," said Bloom Brew owner Jeffrey Bloom.
Last month, Bloom Brew Tap Room and Kitchen was relatively unknown. But the first day making pizza after the announcement, Bloom says that even before they opened, they had a line of around 40 people at the door.
In the first two hours, they served close to 150 people -- which is a big deal, considering that Bloom Brew isn't your typical, full-service pizzeria. The brewery/tap room has a couple of small ovens in an even smaller kitchen.
In fact, prior to the contest, they only served pizza one day per week. Now the spot along Water Street is adjusting to keep up with the demand that Jeff has always dreamed of.
"I'm very passionate about what I do," Bloom said. "I put my heart and soul into this business and for us to be able to actually say we've made it to the point of where we are, is monumental for me."
Bloom came up with the pizza recipe in 2023. He says his life, and the lives of the handful of people he employs, is changing.
"I'm always about giving back and I couldn't be happier to be able to give back to my staff, to be able to give back to the community," Bloom said.
While the pizza contest may have opened the door, Bloom says their overnight success story has been years in the making, and it may be cheesy, but a line of people out the door is something he's always dreamed of.
Right now you can only get Bloom Brew pizzas by the slice on Mondays and Tuesdays, but they're planning to expand to three days in the next few weeks.
