He still has a bite in him.
Barstool Sports chef Dave Portnoy is once again spotlighting local small businesses with his One Bite Pizza Festival — despite the controversy that surrounded it last year.
It’s the second outing for the annual festival, which will take place Saturday at Randall’s Island Park. Around 10,000 chip lovers are expected to attend.
“It’s become a cool little community,” Portnoy, 47, told The Post of the event, which will feature pieces from 35 pizzerias in the tri-state area — including Prince Street in Nolita, Brooklyn’s legendary Di Fara and New Haven’s Frank Pepe – all of which he’s personally tasted for his popular One Bite Pizza reviews.
Last year’s inaugural One Bite Festival was held at Coney Island in September 2023 amid a media firestorm, with some outlets calling Portnoy a “misogynistic bully” and questioning why a local pizzeria would want to work with him.
Portnoy shot back. Weeks before the big event, he posted a 12-minute video on X of him on the phone with a Washington Post reporter confronting her about a supposed “hit piece” she was working on.
He read an email she sent to an unnamed sponsor saying they “would attract criticism by appearing to associate themselves with Dave Portnoy, who has a history of misogynistic comments and other problematic behavior.”
Portnoy accused the writer of subtle interference and was angry that she had not yet reached him.
In the end, it all had little effect. Not a single pizzeria left the festival, which sold out, had 5,000 attendees and went off without a hitch – despite a tropical storm.
“Everybody stood strong … These pizza makers were like, ‘We’ve got your back,'” said Portnoy, who questioned the media’s motives for trying to stir up controversy. “Why would you try to create a pain head for a small business that doesn’t need it?”
Portnoy started his One Bite pizza ratings in 2017, giving ratings from 1 to 10 based on a single slice of cheese.
The reviews now have their own dedicated app and a YouTube channel with 1.34 million subscribers. He also regularly promotes comments on Instagram and X, where he has a total of 8 million followers.
He likes meeting the pizza makers.
“Their stories fascinate me,” he said. “[I have] respect for small business and how hard it is to grow your business. And how much work goes into it. I think they understand it. Barstool started from nothing.”
He’s not just supporting mom-and-pop pie-slingers by promoting them with his reviews and the festival. This year, he will donate all proceeds from the festival to Al Santillo to help him rebuild Santillo’s Brick Over Pizza, a century-old restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that suffered major fire damage in January.
“There are other people out there who help people, but not the way he helps them [Portnoy] does. He goes above and beyond,” Santillo told The Post, adding that Portnoy has promised him the funds needed to rebuild, regardless of whether the festival’s revenue is sufficient or not.
In 2019, Portnoy gave Santillo’s — which has served “Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo, Vince Vaughn and Jay Leno — an 8.3. He gave the already booming business a boost, helping it secure major catering gigs for clients like the Jets.
Over the years, Portnoy has focused more on positive reviews.
“I try not to give bad comments. When I first did this, I didn’t think much of it. Now, going in and seeing all the owners, I try to give them the best I can,” he said. “It could change some of these small businesses.”
The exposure was huge for Peter Grippo and his Brooklyn Square pizzeria, which has three locations around New Jersey.
Grippo, a native of Gravesend, Brooklyn, said his Instagram followers grew from a few thousand to more than 30,000 after being reviewed by Portnoy in 2020.
“My social media exploded,” said Grippo, who will be performing at this year’s One Bite festival. “Even to this day I feel the Portnoy effect. People will go into the One Bite app and come to me because of Dave.”
He has only good things to say about Portnoy.
“He’s a regular guy who came from nothing who made it and is still humble,” he said. “He is what he is. You either love it or you hate it. I love business. He really cares.”
Saturday, September. 14 at Randall’s Island Park; tickets from $179.99 at OneBitePizzaFest.com.
#Barstools #Dave #Portnoy #reveals #beat #hypocritical #haters #local #pizzerias
Image Source : nypost.com