Katie Hagerman and her family always knew there was something special about their grandmother’s 40-year-old pizza recipe.
Hundreds of Saultites have just validated that sentiment as Hagerman and her colleagues with Uncle Gino’s Pizzeria came out victorious at Saturday's first-ever Pizza Fest.
One of four competing pizza restaurants in town, Uncle Gino’s won by a landslide in the Best Specialty Pizza Category with their meatball parmesan.
They also narrowly beat out Ricardo’s Big Slice Pizza in the Best Pepperoni and Cheese category.
“It was a lot of work but well worth it,” Hagerman told SooToday. “I started out with four pizzas yesterday, and two minutes before the start, the lineup was already massive. I realized I had to go back right away and start making more pizzas.”
“My husband and my dad were handing out slices, and I was running back and forth,” she added. “It was crazy.”
The City confirmed that over 2,500 pieces of pizza were consumed by more than 500 attendees at the Downtown Plaza on Saturday.
Other participating pizza makers included Minelli’s at the Marconi Club, as well as Pizza Pizza.
GALLERY: In pizza we crust: Locals sample varieties of Sault's most popular dish
The staff at Uncle Gino’s estimates they cooked up 30 pan pizzas at the festival, each of which typically holds 24 regular-sized slices. They were cut into smaller, sampling-sized pieces for a dollar each this weekend.
Of the two awards Uncle Gino’s received for their efforts, Hagerman was confident they had one of them in the bag, but the other came as a surprise.
“I knew the specialty pizza was going to go over well,” she admitted. “The pepperoni, I know it’s a good product, but everyone has a different taste preference. Ours isn’t as sweet as others. But I’m happy with the way it turned out.”
Already looking forward to next year’s Pizza Fest, Hagerman is prepared to defend her title and hopes her team can go back-to-back.
But she wants to see more competition at the event in 2025 — and she’s calling out her intended opponents by name.
“I want the other pizza places to know that until they take this title away from me, we’re Sault Ste. Marie’s best pizza and I’m running with it,” she claimed. “If Mrs. B’s and Aurora’s wants to come and challenge me, I’m up for it.”
Hagerman expressed great respect for her local competitors in a recent SooToday video that asked local pizza makers to pick their favourite pie — other than their own.
While this weekend’s recognition is hugely appreciated, Hagerman can’t help but acknowledge why her team is experiencing this success.
"To keep my grandmother's recipe going means more to me than anything," she said. “She’s worked so hard her whole life, so to get a little bit of recognition off what she taught us meant a lot.”
Shortly after opening their second location in April 2023, Hagerman spoke with SooToday about the impact her family has had under the Uncle Gino’s name and the legacy they've left in Sault Ste. Marie.
She’s happy to know her restaurant is a legitimate player in the city’s well-established pizza scene.
“Uncle Gino’s was never known as much for its pizza, it’s mostly our homemade pastas, breakfast and stuff like that,” she admitted. “But we’ve always known our pizza was great. We really want to stand alongside all the other popular pizza places in town.”
