Pizza Brain

In May 2010, Kensington-based artist Brian Dwyer, along with Christopher Powell, organized "Give Pizza Chance"—Philadelphia's first pizza-based art show—in which pizza served as muse for more than 25 artists who displayed their work at a local gallery.[2] Inspired by the show's success, Dwyer became fascinated with the communal and seemingly boundless reach of pizza, seeking out more pizza-related memorabilia, with the intention of turning the pizza art exhibit into a yearly occurrence.

In December 2010, Dwyer connected with Michael Carter, Joseph Hunter and Ryan Anderson via Circle of Hope, a Brethren in Christ church located in the Fishtown and East Kensington sections of Philadelphia.[3] Carter, a business executive, left academic publishing to make meaningful investments in the renewal of his hometown.[4] Hunter, a pizzaioli recently transplanted from South Carolina to Philadelphia, sought a venue where pizza could bring communities together.,[5][6] Anderson, a master carpenter worked on craft projects at the nexus of art and utility.

In January 2011, the four formed a business to turn Dwyer's pizza art show into a business model- a pizzeria & museum where members of the community could connect and celebrate a common love of pizza.[7] Together they curated the world's largest collection of pizza related items, earning a Guinness World Record in summer 2011.[8]

On September 7, 2012, Pizza Brain opened its doors to the public. (The company's name comes from the frequent misspelling of Dwyer's first name, in which the 'a' and the 'i' are transposed to spell 'Brain.').[9]

Guinness officially adjudicated Pizza Brain's collection before the company formed as an LLC. On July 31, 2011 Guinness World Records under individual category and Dwyer's name, Guinness certified the collection as "the world's largest collection of pizza-related items".[10]

Pizza Brain's Guinness-certified collection is the core of its Museum of Pizza Culture, which is increasingly recognized as a food museum.,[11][12][13] Today, the collection ranges from the familiar (toys, puzzles, magazine ads, comic books, etc.) to the absurd - including a stainless-steel pizza cutter shaped like the USS Enterprise, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Drop plinko arcade game circa 1990, an original Spanish poster print of the film Do the Right Thing and more than 150 vinyl 45s and LPs spanning 6 decades honoring pizza in song and lyric.

In October 2010, Dwyer met Carter at Circle of Hope's annual mapping meeting. Dwyer shared his enthusiasm for collecting pizza-related objects with Carter. Carter's extensive business travels and love of art immediately led him to the idea of presenting the items in a museum format. In late Fall 2010, Joe Hunter, a pizza chef hailing from South Carolina interested in opening a community-minded pizzeria in his adopted home of Philadelphia. By January 2011, master carpenter Ryan Anderson had teamed up with Brian, Michael and Joe to identify a pair of buildings in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia in which to locate their project. Hunter immediately set to work on Pizza Brain’s unique pie concepts and flavor profiles.[14] Carter provided curatorial direction to Dwyer’s collection and developed the business’ strategic model, including its emphasis on content-rich social media. Anderson applied his considerable carpentry talents to the design of Pizza Brain’s physical space, making creative use of reclaimed and found materials.[15] Dwyer and Carter continued to source interesting pizza-related items to place on the company's Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram accounts. Collaboratively, the quartet turned an art show into the Pizza Brain museum and restaurant concept: a place that serves delicious artisan pies in a museum-like space that captures and commemorates pizza as a cultural icon.

A cascade of additional articles followed as the Museum of Pizza Culture concept gained notoriety, including Zagat,[16] The Huffington Post,[17] The Philadelphia Inquirer,[18]Fox News,[19] Food Network Magazine, Metro,[20] Laughing Squid,[21] and the magazine for Australia's national airline Qantas.[22]

NPR's All Things Considered also covered the story,[23] as well as TV outlets like NBC 10,[24] and Good Morning Sacramento.[25]

In September 2012, The New York Times,[26] Associated Press,[27] Condé Nast Traveler,[28] USA Today,[29] TIME,[30] BBC Travel [31] and The Guardian [32] all profiled Pizza Brain during its opening month, garnering further national and international attention.

On September 26, 2012, CBS This Morning [33] aired a nationally televised news feature on the museum/restaurant, resulting in Pizza Brain being selected as a topic of discussion on Jeopardy!'s Twitter account.[34]

Pizza Brain earned its first foodie award before it opened. The Guinness record and enthusiasm for its grand opening led to partner Dwyer being awarded the title of "Phoodie of the Year" from Philebrity.com,[35] closely beating out candidates ?uestlove, Iron Chef America star Michael Solomonov, Philadelphia foodwriter and Green Aisle Grocery owner Adam Erace, and Tom McCusker aka 'Honest Tom' of Honest Tom's Tacos.

Post-opening, under the direction of head chef Joe Hunter, Pizza Brain has established itself as one of Philadelphia's best pizza shops. It has received local, national and international recognition, for its creative pizza pies.

Notable awards, reviews and lists include: 3 Philadelphia Magazine "Best of Philly" awards[36] Business Insider's Best Pizza in Every State,[37] Zagat's 10 Killer Slices of Pizza in Philly[38] Nylon Magazine's 15 Best Pizza Slices in America,[39] The Daily Meal's 10 Best Pepperoni Pizzas In America[40] and Food Network's 50 Top Pizza Deliveries from Coast to Coast.[41]

Notable national exposure since opening include: ABC's The Chew, Travel Channel's Food Paradise, The Cooking Channel's Pizza Cuz.

Notable international press: Argentina's Resto Del Mundo, Brasil's O Mundo Segundo Los Brasileiros and Uruguay's Plan de Vuelo

• List of pizza chains of the United States

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pizza Brain.

• Official website