BALTIMORE — A Federal Hill pizza shop was on the verge of closing until they were saved by "one bite."
Owner of TinyBrickOven William Fagg has always hoped he'd see the Barstool founder in his small shop. It became reality just in the nick of time.
"I feel like it is a Christmas miracle," Fagg said. "Four years ago we actually put Dave Portnoy's name on the wall over there... we knew that he was one of the biggest pizza influencers back then. We'd tagged him many, many times and had sort of given up."
Now that same board bears the words "@stoolpresidente was here 12/13/24."
A veteran-owned pizza shop 🍕in #federalhill on the verge of closing this holiday will remain open for the foreseeable future thanks to a “Christmas miracle” from @stoolpresidente David Portnoy
— Blair Sabol TV (@BlairSabolTV) December 24, 2024
Story upcoming tonight on WMAR-2 News Baltimore #onebite pic.twitter.com/dxGxwcoWkN
Portnoy gave the shop's slice a 7.9 out of 10 rating, which is good by "One Bite Pizza Reviews" standards, despite it needing to be re-heated and Portnoy refusing that another one be made due to a time crunch.
"Thin, New York kind of style. I really like it," Portnoy said in his review that dropped Monday night. "There's no way this place should be going out of business. None!"
"I never could have anticipated something like this happening. We had always hoped he would come and it's amazing. It really is amazing," Fagg said.
Since the video dropped, the phone's been ringing off the hook and donations are pouring in for the businesses' pay-it-forward program to provide a pizza for people in need, well surpassing its $5,000 goal ensuring this small shop's impact is anything but tiny.
RELATED: Tiny Brick Oven pays it forward to help vulnerable groups
Portnoy's pizza review series reaches millions of viewers and inspired customers to show up first thing Christmas Eve.
"People who I know who also live here are sharing it on Instagram," customer Drew Holt said. "I watched the video and I thought it was really nice."
"I called my son and said 'hey we need to come down and support the guy.' Because small businesses are really important to the community," Doug Holt of Ellicott City said. "You can't have uniqueness in your city unless you have unique places to go."
Fagg has continued to try and secure a liquor license, which he believes will help keep the business viable, though unsuccessfully. He's invited the Baltimore mayor and Governor of Maryland to have a slice with him.
"If we get a lot of great people in this city, I know great things can happen," Fagg said.
