One of the guys behind this pizza counter has a slice of pizza tattooed on his neck. That isn’t a phase, friends, that’s a business plan written in ink.
He didn’t chase the dream alone, either. He opened the shop with a best friend he’s known for 30 years, and they now run the counter together in Ohio.
The pies are Detroit-style, baked in rectangular pans with crispy, cheesy edges. The specialty names sound like they galloped straight off a famous racetrack, which feels like a puzzle worth solving.
A friendship lasting three decades is already a good story, but adding a pizza tattoo and a shared business makes it even more unusual. I have to admit, the combination of crispy Detroit-style pizza and two longtime friends finally opening their own place is enough to catch my attention.
A Neck Tattoo Is About As Committed To Pizza As A Person Can Get
Plenty of people say they love pizza. Very few prove it with a needle and a tattoo artist.
That’s the story behind Black Pony Pizza in Columbus. One of the owners wore his devotion on his neck long before the shop’s ovens ever warmed up.
A tattoo like that suggests pizza has been a serious passion for a long time. This business feels much more personal than a passing restaurant trend.
It’s a lifelong obsession that finally got its own address. When a guy’s skin already advertises the product, the business feels less like a gamble and more like destiny.
Think about what that means for your dinner. People who care this much about pizza tend to sweat the small stuff, like dough, sauce, and how crispy the edges get.
Black Pony Pizza leans hard into that care. The crusts are made in house and baked fresh every week, which says plenty about the effort behind each pan.
There’s also something charming about a business built on such a bold personal choice. Most shop owners hang a sign out front, while this one carries a little logo of passion everywhere he goes.
So yes, the tattoo makes a great headline. The real fun starts when you discover the pizza actually backs it up.
Thirty Years Of Friendship Built This Pizza Counter
Ryan and Ken have been best friends for about three decades. That’s longer than some restaurants stay open and longer than most group chats survive.
Together, they run Black Pony Pizza, and the friendship shows up in the whole idea. Opening a business with your oldest buddy takes trust, patience, and probably a few honest arguments about toppings.
Starting a business with a longtime friend sounds exciting, but turning that idea into a real restaurant takes commitment. These two actually made it happen.
These two did it in Ohio, turning years of shared history into a pizza shop. It’s the kind of partnership where one person likely finishes the other’s sentences, or at least their pizza orders.
Working side by side every week is no small thing. Long shifts and busy weekends can test anyone, yet a 30-year bond gives them a pretty solid foundation.
You can feel that personal touch even in the shop’s replies to customers online. The owners thank people by name and invite them back, which fits a business run by friends rather than a faceless chain.
Here’s a fun way to see it. Every pan coming out of the oven carries a little bit of a friendship older than most of the people ordering it.
Those Crispy Cheese Edges Are The Whole Reason To Fight Over Corners
Detroit-style pizza has one star player, and it isn’t the middle. It’s the edge, where cheese melts against the pan and turns into a crunchy, golden frame.
Black Pony Pizza builds its menu around that style. The pies come out rectangular and thick, with a crispy cheese-lined border that wraps around every piece.
If you’ve never tried Detroit-style before, here’s a quick history bit. The style started in Detroit, Michigan, where pizza makers baked dough in square steel pans.
Those pans helped create the famous caramelized crust. Columbus now gets its own version without anyone needing to drive north across the state line.
The dough gets serious attention here. Every crust is made in house each week and then par baked, which means partly baked ahead of time.
That step helps cut down the wait once you order. Your pizza can hit the oven, finish baking, and land in your hands faster.
A friendly tip for groups: decide who gets the corners before the box opens. Corner pieces carry the most crispy cheese, and nobody wants a friendship of 30 years tested over a slice.
Honestly, the owners know a thing or two about protecting long friendships. You might want to follow their lead.
The Pizza Names Sound Like Kentucky Derby Winners For A Reason
Street Sense. I’ll Have Another.
Venetian Way.
Horse racing fans may already be grinning. Those are all names of real Kentucky Derby winners, and they show up as specialty pies at Black Pony Pizza.
The shop’s name fits right in with the theme. A black pony and a lineup of champion racehorses make for a clever pairing on a pizza menu.
I love when a restaurant sneaks in a little personality like this. It turns ordering into a small trivia game, and you might leave knowing more about racing than you expected.
Street Sense won the Derby in 2007, and I’ll Have Another took the roses in 2012. Venetian Way crossed the finish line first way back in 1960.
You don’t need to know a single thing about horses to enjoy the food. Still, it’s fun to picture each pie charging out of the oven like it just left the starting gate.
Kids might enjoy this angle too. Ask them to guess what a pizza named after a racehorse might taste like, then compare notes after the first bite.
Either way, the names stick in your head. That’s smart branding, and it makes the next order feel like picking a winner.
Venetian Way And A Build-Your-Own Option Keep Everyone Happy
Every group has that one person who wants to customize everything. Good news: Black Pony Pizza makes room for them.
Along with the specialty pies, you can build your own pizza with the toppings you like. That means one friend can grab Venetian Way while another designs a creation from scratch.
Venetian Way takes its name from the 1960 Kentucky Derby champion. It’s one of the shop’s featured specialties and pairs nicely with a custom order when you’re sharing.
Splitting orders this way is smart. You get to sample a pie the owners designed, plus one shaped around your own cravings.
Families will appreciate the flexibility too. Picky kids can stick to simple toppings, while adults experiment with bolder choices on the specialty side.
One tip worth remembering involves the corners. A rectangular pizza only has four, so if crispy edges matter to you, say so early.
The beauty of a build-your-own option is that it never gets old. You can return to Black Pony Pizza again and again, testing new combinations each time.
Maybe you’ll stumble onto something worthy of its own racehorse name. Stranger things have happened at a shop started by a guy with a pizza tattoo.
Grab Your Box And Explore The Short North
Plan on taking your pizza with you. Black Pony Pizza runs as a counter-service shop without dine-in seating, so this is a grab-and-go kind of place.
That actually opens up fun options. You can carry your box home, to a friend’s place, or anywhere your evening is headed.
The shop sits at 1001 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201. That puts it right in the Short North, one of the liveliest stretches of the city.
North High Street is famous for its art galleries, shops, and colorful energy. The neighborhood is also known for its lit-up arches that stretch over the street after dark.
Ohio State University sits just to the north as well. That makes the shop handy for students, families visiting campus, or anyone catching a game day in Columbus.
A smart move is to call ahead or plan your timing. Detroit-style pies are thick and take a little oven time, even with the par-baked crusts.
Bring a flat surface in your car for the ride home. Nobody wants a sliding box and a lopsided pizza after all that crispy-edge excitement.
Honestly, a warm box riding shotgun beats almost any other passenger. Just don’t let it pick the music.
Mark Your Calendar Because Weekdays Start Late Here
Timing matters with this shop. Black Pony Pizza stays closed Monday through Wednesday, so early-week cravings will have to wait.
Thursday is when things kick off, with doors open from 4 to 9 pm. Friday stretches a bit later, running from 4 to 10 pm.
Weekends bring the most flexibility. Saturday hours run from 11 am to 10 pm, which makes it perfect for a lunch run or a late dinner.
Sunday opens at 11 am and wraps up at 8 pm. That’s a great window for a family meal before the school week begins.
I like how the schedule feels focused. Two friends running a shop together need rest too, and a shorter week probably keeps the pizza at its best.
A quick tip before heading out: double-check the hours on the shop’s social pages. Small businesses sometimes adjust schedules for holidays or special events.
Since the shop is still new to the neighborhood, it’s a fun time to stop by. You get to say you tried it early, before everyone in Ohio catches on.
And who knows what comes next for these two friends? With a tattoo that permanent, I’m betting they plan to stick around for a long time.
