Jeremy and daughter Gracie Oklota hold Youngstown Pizza Reviews specialty pizza slices that they created at St. A’s Bistro in Struthers. Correspondent photo / John Patrick Gatta

BOARDMAN — What started as a fun family activity turned Jeremy and Gracie Oklota into social media stars known as Youngstown Pizza Reviews.

Explaining the Reviews’ origin, the 46-year-old Boardman resident said, “Over the last 15 years — as a family — we would travel the country visiting presidential gravesites; 25 total so far. Each town we visited, we would find a local pizza shop to try pizza. The universal theme was that no one had pizza as good as back home.”

Then, like many people who generated any project to entertain themselves during the COVID-19 lockdown, the Oklotas tried North Lima Pizza on April 26, 2020, with Jeremy’s wife Angela filming their reactions. They did it again with a slice of Bruno Bros. Pizza. Both videos were posted on Jeremy’s personal Facebook page for family and friends to enjoy.

The positive reaction to them having fun during the pandemic inspired Jeremy to take matters further.

“It was then that the idea to start a Facebook page came into my head. I was shocked that a city like Youngstown did not have a social media page dedicated solely to pizza,” he said.

Created mainly for those who knew the Oklotas, he said, “I had no delusions that the page would grow into what it is today. What started as something to do because we were bored, locked in at home during a pandemic, became a passion project after we saw how much our videos were helping our locally owned pizza shops. The other thing that took us by surprise was how unifying talking about pizza was. Everyone in Youngstown is a pizza expert, and pizza is the ultimate conversation starter.”

The Youngstown Pizza Reviews Facebook page has nearly 15,000 followers with 4 million views of the Oklotas’ 65 videos. There is also an Instagram page — youngstownpizzareviews — and there are plans to start a YouTube channel.

“The father / daughter dynamic draws people to our page. Anyone can talk about pizza, but I think we keep it authentic. If you meet us, we are exactly how you see us in our videos,” Jeremy said.

As for why Angela doesn’t take part, Jeremy explained that she deals with celiac disease and cannot have gluten / wheat, which is an ingredient in the pizzas that are reviewed.

“She also does not have much desire to be on camera. Maybe one day, we will do a gluten-free series where she will jump on a few review videos,” he said.

Each review focuses on a pepperoni pizza, with Jeremy pointing out that in the future they may revisit shops to try other varieties. The numerous pizza options available, as well as a bit of good-humored arrogance, caused him to rate the area above the famous styles made in New York, Chicago and Detroit.

“Youngstown calls itself ‘The Pizza Capital of The World’ because we feel like it. If that is not the most Youngstown answer, I do not know what is. My argument against the other cities is that most of them have one style of pizza that they are known for. We have it all here,” Jeremy said.

So, what are these local pizza experts looking for in a good slice?

“When you eat as much pizza as we do, I am always looking for something different and unique. A unique sauce or crust will always catch my attention,” Jeremy said.

Gracie added, “A sweet sauce and a perfectly cooked crust.”

Their number one rated pizza — combined score — is Turco’s Pizza in New Castle.

“My all-time favorite pizza is Uptown Pizza,” Jeremy said. “My mom ate it a ton while she was pregnant with me. So, I always say that their pizza sauce runs through my veins.”

As for Gracie, her best-loved slice comes from Belleria.

A special honor occurred when the two created their very own specialty pie at St. A’s Bistro in Struthers.

“One of the coolest parts about running our page is getting to know the local pizza shop owners. Jimmy from St. A’s is a great example of that,” Jeremy said. “After reviewing his pizza, we became friends. I had an idea for a pizza, and he was the first one on my list to ask if he would be interested in including it on his menu. The pizza is called the Y.P.R. It has (Y)ellow onion, a (P)esto drizzle and (R)oni (Pepperoni).”

What pleases Jeremy even more than tasting pizza around the Mahoning Valley and beyond is that Youngstown Pizza Reviews has become a promoter of locally owned businesses.

“All of the feedback we get from pizza shop owners is great. It usually is thanking us for the increase in business directly after the review video was posted. That is what we are all about, trying to introduce the public to shops they may have never heard of,” he said.

As the director of inventory at Phantom Fireworks, Jeremy admits to the influence of working at the Bruce J. Zoldan-owned company.

“Working directly with the Zoldan family and seeing how much they give back to Youngstown has further fueled my desire to give back to the Youngstown community and its locally owned businesses,” he said.

During the past two years, Gracie, a 2022 graduate of Boardman High School, has been away studying nuclear medicine at Robert Morris University and playing on the varsity bowling team.

“Everyone knows Gracie is the best passenger-seat pizza reviewer out there,” said her dad. But, even without her, the show must go on.

After including guest reviewers such as WFMJ’s Andrew DiPaolo, Youngstown professional boxer Kelly Pavlik, former Congressman Tim Ryan and former Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel, Jeremy has kept YPR’s momentum moving forward with other guests when Gracie is unavailable.

“It adds a little dynamic to the reviews and gets a different perspective,” he said. “I also believe our guests enjoy it because it is different from the normal interviews they get asked to participate in.”

The duo’s growing popularity garnered Jeremy and Gracie a spot among the local celebrity judges in the eighth annual Slice of the Valley Pizza Challenge, which took place in April at the Eastwood Event Centre. Nearly 1,000 people tasted pizza, wings and beer at the event.

“We sat with a panel of 12 other judges, including former Cleveland Browns players Kelly Holcomb and Peyton Hillis,” he said. “Most of the places that entered we had not tried, so that was cool. We did recognize a few from previously having them.

“We talked to the winner of the best plain (cheese) slice — Jimmy Neno’s Pizzeria & Taproom in Brookfield — and are planning on doing an official review there soon,” Jeremy said. “He stopped by the judges’ table after the competition asking what he needs to do to get us out for a review — to which we replied, ‘Winning this competition is reason enough.'”

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