Meet the best pizza in Palm Beach County, picked by Post readers!
Liz Balmaseda
The voters have spoken and they’ve chosen creative over classic, rectangular over round and takeout over traditional dine-in. Their choice for “Best Pizza” in Palm Beach County is made at a Delray Beach takeout shop with pop-up roots.
Palm Beach Post readers bestowed the 2024 Best Pizza Champ title to Death by Pizza, a concept born in the days of social distancing, takeout dining and COVID-19 anxiety. The innovative shop defeated Royal Palm Beach’s Mario the Baker.
Death by Pizza started as an online shop with an insanely brief ordering window that opened at noon on Mondays and shut within minutes, thanks to customer demand. In short: the pizza went viral in the time of the virus.
What makes this pie so special?Best pizza winner in Palm Beach County serves Detroit-style
The thick, square-edge, Detroit-style pies, lavishly topped and curiously named, became so popular that the pop-up grew into a permanent takeout shop.
The concept’s brother-and-sister founders, Koby and Zoey Wexler, who ran the pop-up out of their family’s downtown Delray Beach bakery (Two Fat Cookies), opened their Death by Pizza brick-and-mortar shop on Halloween 2022. It was so successful, they took over the space next door in May 2023 to handle their frequent deliveries and stock.
Today, Death by Pizza has twice its original menu offerings and more than triple the staff since it opened. The shop turns out some 300 on-demand pizzas a day, the Wexlers say.
They marvel at the steady stream of customers that come from all over South Florida.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” says Zoey Wexler. “We just started this as something fun, just to see if we could sell it. How did something that was never really planned take off in such a way during the most insane time in anyone’s lifetime? It was like the perfect storm.”
How it started:Delray’s new pizza obsession sells out within minutes
With no dining room available at the shop, many Death by Pizza fans have found a fun, pragmatic alternative: they tailgate their pizza.
“They bring beach chairs, coolers, whatever they need. They’ll parallel park outside the shop, sometimes go to Old School Square or to our friends at Hopportunities (a nearby self-serve beer hall),” says Koby Wexler.
He says the shop’s new menu items are hot sellers. The most popular new pie is the Vodka Roni, topped with mozzarella, Ezzo brand pepperoni cups, pink vodka sauce and a chiffonade of basil ($30).
“And what everyone goes crazy for is what we call the Garlic R.I.P. Bread Sticks,” he says, referring to the shop’s rip-apart garlic bread ($11) that’s served with three sauces — sweet, vodka and pesto with whipped ricotta.
But for all that is new about Death by Pizza, for all of its social media fandom and pop-up allure, its success taps into something timeless, he says.
“Pizza is one of the five basic foods that people want once a week,” he says. “I almost compare it to music. Who can live without it?”
Flavor and creativity is part of the draw as well, he says.
“People want full flavor,” says Wexler. “They want a memorable experience.”
Death by Pizza
Location: 528 NE 2nd St., Delray Beach, 561-666-9111, DeathbyPizzaDelray.com
Hours: Open Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday from noon to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday.
Pizza prices: Each Detroit-style pie serves two to three. Prices range from $25 to $33. Specials vary.
More than pizza: The takeout shop offers starters, salads, sandwiches, wings and desserts.
Lunch deals: A midday menu is offered from noon to 4 p.m., with $6 pizza slices, $12 two-slice and drink combos and more.
Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com.