With the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments just around the corner, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a face-off of our own with our LEXtoday pizza bracket.

And the bracket winner is…

Joe Bologna's, voted best pizza shop in Lexington by our readers and social media followers in our LEXtoday pizza shop bracket. Joe Bologna's has been an institution in Lexington for 50+ years, serving up Sicilian-style pies and big-as-your-face breadsticks. While most come for the decadent bites, its interior inside of a former church and synagogue really make for a truly unique experience.

We want to extend a major “thank you” to all of you for participating in our bracket challenge the past few weeks. We’ve had a blast seeing how the votes shook out, and we hope you did too. Looking for more pizza shops around town? Check out our guide.

Championship round

Welcome back to our LEXtoday pizza shop bracket, where we’re asking you to determine the best pizza shop in Lexington.

After our second round of votes, we’re down to two “teams” left:

Joe Bologna's and Goodfellas | Joe Bologna’s bread sticks with the classics (as it has for ~50 years). If you’re looking for a New York slice, Goodfellas should be your go-to.

Ready to decide who moves on to the final two in our bracket? Cast your vote.

Round 2

After our second round of votes, we’re down to four "teams” left:

Joe Bologna's and Rolling Oven | Joe Bologna's bread sticks with the classics (as it has for ~50 years) while Rolling Oven's wood-fired pies take a more adventurous approach — Thai chili chicken pizza, anyone?
Puccini's and Goodfellas | Puccini's is another spot that loves classics, but isn't afraid to take risks with offerings like its Panama Red pie featuring shrimp + pesto. If you're looking for a New York slice, Goodfellas should be your go-to.

Ready to decide who moves on to the final two in our bracket? Cast your vote below.

Round 1

With the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments just around the corner, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a faceoff of our own.

Last year, you helped us name the best brewery: Mirror Twin Brewing. This year, we asked you to share your favorite pizza in Lexington. Now — thanks to you and the help of a random generator — we have the official lineupfor our bracket.

Who’s in the running

Going head-to-head in the first round are:

Pearl's and Joe Bologna's | Pearl's offers artisanal options like Gruyere + potato, while Joe Bologna's sticks with the classics (as it has for ~50 years).
Rolling Oven and Smashing Tomato | Both of these spots have a love for the wood-fired flavor. Rolling Oven takes a more adventurous approach with its pies — Thai chili chicken pizza, anyone? Smashing Tomato is a tried-and-true classic with 25+ toppings to choose from.
Rise Up and Puccini's | Rise Up is relatively new to the scene, but has already made a big impact with its Detroit-style pizza. Puccini's is another spot that loves classics, but isn't afraid to take risks with offerings like its Panama Red pie featuring shrimp + pesto.
Goodfellas and PieTana | If you're looking for a New York slice, look no further than Goodfellas. PieTana offeres a true taste of Lexington, using local ingredients like Blue Door Smokehouse brisket.

Nominations

But first, we need your help nominating the spots you think should be in the bracket.

Using the nomination form below, submit the local spot that has your favorite slice of pie, and we’ll use your nominations to create a bracket and battle it out in our newsletter and on socials.

Need help brainstorming? Check out our pizza guide to get started.

How it works

Beginning today, we will host several voting rounds within our newsletters and social channels to determine Lexington's best pizza. Who moves on is up to you. Vote for your favorites, and the pizza with more votes moves on. Simple as that. We’ll go until we have a champion, which will be announced in our Monday, March 25 newsletter. You will be able to voteonce per round.

How to participate

Vote for the pizza you’d like to see advance to round two using this poll. You can vote for all four spots or as little as one. Once we count all the votes, we’ll share an updated bracket and new poll in an upcoming newsletter.