ABOUT US
A TALE OF TWO CITIES, TWO PIZZAS, AND TWO PIZZAIOLOS
Jay Langfelder founded Jay’s in 2017, after years of serving wood-fired pizza out of a popular local food truck named the O.G. Wood Fire.
Unlike most pizza in Buffalo, New York (known for its thick, tender crust, sweet sauce, heavy cheese, and cup-and-char pepperoni), Jay’s introduced simple, Neapolitan features like light toppings, fresh ingredients, and airy dough with extended fermentation and a lightning-fast bake time. We also began experimenting with rectangular, Detroit-style pizza as a weekly special—and sold out every time. It quickly became another menu staple.
The vibe at Jay’s—a laid-back, eat-in restaurant in the Kenmore Village—takes cues from the southern Italian style. Customers can chat casually with cooks as they watch their pizza being made in our open kitchen, then enjoy it straight from our hand-built, brick Pavesi oven.
Joe Powers took over the pizzeria in late 2020, at just 22 years old. Starting as a loyal fan of the O.G. food truck, he’s worked at Jay’s since we first opened our doors.
CLASSICALLY TRAINED, FORWARD-THINKING
In May 2019, Joe traveled to Naples and joined an advanced, two-week training course run by the official AVPN pizza school, immersing himself all day, every day in the classic Neapolitan tradition.
His skills and dedication have won Jay’s many national and international awards, including a spot among the 50 top pizzerias in the United States. But we don’t rest on our laurels. We’re constantly striving to push our boundaries, try out original recipes, and add creative new items to our menu.
GLOBALLY INSPIRED, LOCALLY SOURCED
At Jay’s, ingredients are carefully chosen and sourced from local and artisanal providers whenever possible.
Our pizzas use fresh mozzarella and ricotta from the family-run Sopra Cheese company in Bath, a nearby town with a rich dairy farming past, and fresh basil and microgreens from Gro-op, an aquaponic vertical farm in downtown Buffalo.
We get our organic produce from Plato Dale Farm in Arcade, a sustainable farmstead just an hour southeast of our kitchen, as well as from Thorpes Organic Family Farm in East Aurora and Flat 12 Mushrooms, an urban farm in Buffalo’s Black Rock district.
Our cured meats like mortadella, guanciale, and pancetta (along with ‘nduja, a spicy pork spread made with Calabrian chili peppers) come from Tempesta Artisan Salumi, a Chicago market built on five generations of family history.
If you look closely, you’ll also see that some of our ingredients are stamped with the regulatory label DOP. It stands for Denominazione d’Origine Protetta, and it’s reserved for high-quality products—like cheese, prosciutto, olive oil, etc.—that are produced, processed, and packaged in a specific region in Italy and according to a strict tradition.
We’re a modern neighborhood pizzeria inspired by time-honored global practices—and we’re excited to keep the love and tradition of pizza alive.