Terita's Pizza has been voted by Dispatch readers as the Best Pizza in Columbus
The winner: Terita's Pizza.
In a finals showdown as close as you might expect between two Columbus-style pizzerias that opened two years apart and operate four miles away from each other, Terita's has claimed our Best Pizza in Columbus title after four weeks of voting by Dispatch readers.
The 65-year-old carryout in North Linden received 1,010 votes in last week's final round. The Pizza House, a 63-year-old dine-in and carryout restaurant on the northwest side, received 940 votes.
More:Best Pizza in Columbus finalists Terita's and The Pizza House are Columbus-style stars
It's even closer if you add up their vote totals over the course of our monthlong contest, which narrowed a field of 16 local pizzerias and restaurants that had received the most nominations on Dispatch social media pages.
Get this: Terita's received 3,376 votes in week-to-week matchups with Hounddog's Pizza, Paulie Gee's, Adriatico's and The Pizza House. The Pizza House received 3,350 votes against Slammers, Rotolo's Italian Pizzeria, Tommy's Pizza and Terita's.
That's a 26-vote margin out of more than 6,700 cast for both. More than 5,000 readers cast almost 20,000 total votes over the course of the bracket challenge.
Terita's, which over the years has helped solidify thinner-crusted, square-cut, edge-to-edge topped pizza as the predominant style in Columbus, is no stranger to accolades.
The 65,000-follower Pizza Connoisseurs of Columbus Facebook group has voted Terita's as its Pizza of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2022. It averages 4.63 stars out of a possible five on Yelp.
More:What is Columbus-style pizza? Here's the lowdown and why it tops them all.
Terita's, we can say now, also received the most nominations from Dispatch readers before our bracket voting even started.
The pizzeria is open seven days a week from 4 to 11 p.m. at 3905 Cleveland Ave.
Instagram: @dispatchdining