Thank you for an incredible Pizza Expo 2026 | Follow What’s Happening Each Day During Pizza Expo Week
It’s the best week in the pizza business, International Pizza Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center (Expo: March 24-26, 2026 / Education: March 22-26, 2026). Pizza Today brings you all the action happening with daily updates.
Thursday – Not an Ending, But a Beginning | Pizza Expo Daily
Pizza Expo Concludes with Champions Crowned
The last day of Pizza Expo is bittersweet. We all look forward to cultivating all the new connections and integrating new ideas and new products into the business. We part re-energized and refueled from spending days with our pizza community.
The show floor was abuzz of interactions. The Pizza Today Village continued its sessions with a look at New Haven Pizza and a legal issues Q&A. Operators shared their stories in The Hot Slice podcast studio.
Gelato Champions Named in Olympics-style Ceremony
Mid-day, competitions began to reveal its champions. For the first time in the United States, the Gelato Festival World Masters’ Grand Finale declared its winners from International Pizza Expo. The ceremony was beautiful and inspiring as all the nations represented presented their flags as they approached the stage for award announcements that were four years in the making. We will be posting the complete Gelato Festival World Masters’ Grand Finale results.
Pizza Championship makes History
Attention shifted to the International Pizza Challenge areas as Master Pizza and Pizza Expo team prepared to crown world champions in eight divisions. IPC organizer Michael LaMarca from Master Pizza, broke the news to the packed crowd the International Pizza Challenge broke the record as the largest pizza competition in the world with more than 730 competitors.
See all the results from the International Pizza Challenge.
Wednesday — The Exhibit Hall goes electric | Pizza Expo Daily
Show floor exhibits, competitions, demos and the Block Party take center stage
Wednesday at Pizza Expo was jumpstarted by an idea-driven, systems focused keynote address by Hengam and Matt Hengam, owners of Mattenga’s Pizzeria, Pizza Today’s 2025 Pizzeria of Year. More on their inspiring keynote.
Attendees tasted and tested the pizzeria industry’s leading food trends, tech innovations, service-based solutions that filled the show floor.
The Pizza Today Village Secret Menu of Seminars featured Pizza Today contributors and special guests.
At 4:30 p.m. the attention shifted to the World Pizza Games area for the Block Party and Dough Acrobatics Finals, the pizza community’s party we’ve been looking forward to all year.
COMPETITION RESULTS COMING SOON. We’ll post competition results here as we receive them.
Tuesday – Pizza Community Together Again | Pizza Expo Daily
Competitions, Demos Highlight the Pizza Expo Exhibit Hall Opening
We kick off the 42nd Pizza Expo with an inspiring keynote address by Wylie Dufresne who challenged the pizza community to look at things differently. Dufresne is a James Beard Award-winning, Michelin-starred chef and owner of Stretch Pizza in NYC. He is known as the leading proponent of modernist gastronomy in America. Check out more from Dufresne’s keynote.
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After the keynote address, pizzeria operators and professionals took to the seminar hall for education sessions devoted to making their businesses better. Pizza People packed sessions on pizza crust bootcamp, food and labor costs, upselling, menu engineering, handling negative reviews and more. Scott Wiener’s Pizza Trends seminar attracted such a long line of attendees that it was moved to the keynote room to accommodate the crowd.
The anticipation was electric as attendees line the hall for the 10 a.m. opening of the exhibit hall filled with exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations and solutions for pizzerias. Demos featured Tavern-style, Grandma, Detroit and Cast Iron pizza styles and gelato.
Pizza Expo debuted the Pizza Today Village with a full lineup of Secret Menu Seminars and Demos, including Audrey Kelly’s Utilizing Sauces, Anthony Falco’s Pizza Romano Tonda and more.
International Pizza Challenge attracts world’s best pizza makers
Let the baking begin as pizza makers battled head-to-head in the International Pizza Challenge in four categories: World’s Best Cheese Slice, Traditional, Classica and Bacio Legacy Non-Traditional. As soon as we have today’s competition results, we bring them to you. Look for today’s results in the Pizza Expo News Hub.
Tuesday’s International Pizza Challenge Preliminary Results are in. See who advanced.
Tuesday at Pizza Expo wrapped with Beer & Bull, a revamped networking event with a new format allowing attendees to connect on hot-button pizzeria issue.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Wednesday at Pizza Expo:
- A Keynote Address by Hengam and Matt Stanfield at 8:15 a.m.
- Show Floor Opening at 10 a.m.
- Full Day of Seminars and Demos
- Secret Menu Sessions at the Pizza Today Village
- Pizza Games Finals & Block Party at 4:30 p.m.
Stay up to date on the latest Pizza Expo 2026 news, visit Pizza Expo 2026: Latest News from the World’s Largest Pizza Show hub page.
Monday – School’s in Session for Early Arriving Attendees | Pizza Expo Daily
Quick Takeaways from Monday’s Education Lineup at Pizza Expo
Welcome to Monday at Pizza Expo. The show floor is coming together for its 10 a.m. Tuesday opening. Intensive, 4-hour workshops continued in the morning. Other earlier arriving attendees grabbed their badges and hit the seven Monday afternoon sessions developed for pizzeria operators, from prospective and new owners to seasoned pros.
Late afternoon, a historic 700+ competitors gathered in the International Pizza Challenge area for pre-competition meeting. Champions will be crowned in the crowd of pizza-making competitors. Read BREAKING NEWS on COMPETITIONS: International Pizza Challenge Will Be ‘Best of All Time’.
We finished the day with a New Operator/Early Arriving Attendees Happy Hour. The casual gathering was a perfect spot to connect with fellow operators and meet new people in the pizza community.
Quotes from Education Speakers on Mondayat Pizza Expo
Editor in Chief Denise Greer and Senior Editor Kate Lavin took copious notes to bring you a few key takeaways from the day’s sessions and workshops.
With seven education sessions and eight workshops today, here’s a glimpse of the nuggets of knowledge to gain through Pizza Expo’s top-tier, pizzeria-focused education program.
Nick Bogacz – Hiring in Any Market & Creating a Winning Training Program
“You want the general manager hiring because that is who they’re gonna work for.”
“You can have the most perfect training program, but if your managers don’t buy into it, it doesn’t matter.”
Melinda Carbajal — Licensing & Government Policy
“New 2026 IRS rules have ended the deductibility of “employer-provided meals” (on-site staff meals).”
“Get certified by your state as a small business so you are eligible for contracts and grants restricted to small businesses!”
Lars Smith — Building Your Slate of Limited Time Offerings
“Yes, trends are important, but I think being selective about what trends fit what you’re already doing is more important than just trying to be on the next hot thing.”
David Scott Peters –- Fix the Leaks: Plug Profit Holes Before They Sink You
“If My labor cost without taxes benefit insurance without management is 25.83%… We have a budget and our budget target is 30%. Why aren’t you going to use this? Because you actually have to manage to a budget, you have to schedule to a budget.”
Stay tuned tomorrow for Tuesday at Pizza Expo:
- A Keynote Address by Wylie Dufresne at 8:15 a.m.
- Show Floor Opening at 10 a.m.
- Full Day of Seminars and Demos
- Secret Menu Sessions at the Pizza Today Village
- Beer & Bull Networking at 4:30 p.m.
Stay up to date on the latest Pizza Expo 2026 news, visit Pizza Expo 2026: Latest News from the World’s Largest Pizza Show hub page.
Sunday – All About Deep Dive Pizza Business Education | Pizza Expo Daily
School of Pizzeria Management Workshops Kick Off Pizza Expo Week
Registration opened to lines of eager attendees looking to get a jumpstart on Pizza Expo week. The show floor move in underway for its Tuesday Opening.
Operators flock to Las Vegas days before the exhibit hall opens to take advance of deep-dive, intensive pizza business-focused workshops.
Today’s 4-hour, fee-based workshops were led by the pizzeria and restaurant industry thought leaders, including:
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Mike Bausch, owner of Andolini’s and other concepts based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A leading industry speaker, consultant and Pizza Today contributor, led a session on Kitchen Efficiency Protocol: Turn Lost Effort into Real Profit.
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David Scott Peters, restaurant industry veteran, original restaurant coach and creator of Restaurant Prosperity Formula™, presented The Sales Growth Playbook: How to Sell More without More Customers.
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Michael Androw, award winning pizzaiolo and owner of Connecticut-based E&D Pizza, dove into the topic of “You Want to Open a Pizza Restaurant?”
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Silar Chapman, vice president of perfectingpizza.com and founder of King of Fire Pizza, delivered a session “Food Trucks & Catering: When & How to Go All-In”.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Monday at Pizza Expo:
- more deep-dive workshops (8 a.m.-Noon)
- early arriving attendee education sessions commence (12:30 p.m.-5:15 p.m.)
- a New Operator Happy Hour (5 p.m.)
- Registration open 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Stay up to date on the latest Pizza Expo 2026 news, visit Pizza Expo 2026: Latest News from the World’s Largest Pizza Show hub page.
