America's 35 Favorite Pizza Chains 2016

Hungry Howie's, founded in Taylor, Michigan, in 1973, prides itself on being the home of "the original flavored crust pizza," and this unique twist has helped it to expand to more than 575 locations in 21 states. Those crust flavors include Butter Cheese, Cajun, Garlic Herb, and Onion. Pizzas are made to order using dough made in-house daily and real mozzarella. Oven-baked subs, salads, and "Howie Breads" topped with cheese, Cajun seasoning, or cinnamon-sugar are also available. 

Established in Sacramento in 1954, Shakey's has about 500 locations worldwide and about 60 in the United States, with the highest concentration in Southern California. There's an emphasis on fun as well as pizza, and all locations have a game room for kids. The pizza is also quite good: Go for the Shakey's Special, with salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, and black olives. And don't forget to get some of the battered and fried Mojo Potatoes. 

The first Pizza Inn was opened in 1958 by two brothers near Southern Methodist University's Dallas campus. Today, there are more than 300 locations, most in the southern U.S. The buffet-style approach allows guests to sample many different types of pizza, including the chain's crackery trademark Original Thin Crust in varieties like Bacon Cheddar Ham and Chicken Fajita.

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom was founded in 1976 in Boulder by a few friends who wanted to bring good pizza and beer to the people. Today,  the chain boasts 105 locations in 24 states, and it serves a wide variety of small plates, pastas, burgers, and sandwiches along with a host of pizzas, served on either a thick or thin crust, and a wide selection of beer.

Happy Joe's has more than 50 locations in seven states, but most of them are in its native Iowa. The first location was opened by Joe Whitty in East Davenport in 1972, and it's still run by Whitty and his children. As its name might imply, the chain is family-oriented and kid-friendly, offering plenty of ice cream treats and a kid's menu featuring macaroni and cheese pizza (the company also operates the Happy Joe's Kids Foundation, helping special-needs children). As for the pizza, it's available in four sizes, with five crust options (thin, pan, nine-grain, gluten-free, and CrunchCrust); you can create your own or choose from the signature pizzas, including the BBQ Joe, with smoked beef, chicken, or Canadian bacon with barbecue sauce and three cheeses.

Founded by Tulsa schoolteacher Ken Selby in 1961, Mazzio's today has 140 franchised locations in 10 states, primarily Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The fast-casual chain operates in stand-alone buildings (many of which have drive-thrus and buffets), and specialties include made-to-order pastas; giant stuffed Calzone Rings; baked pastas that serve five; and pizzas in four sizes, three crusts, and with 26 topping options.

A Dayton, Ohio, institution with 33 locations in and around the city, Cassano's offers a wide variety of unique thin-crust pizzas, including a ring-shaped "All Edge" pie with appetizers including toasted ravioli in the center, a heart-shaped pizza, and a 30-inch Party Pizza. Burgers and "Cassinis" are served on pizza dough buns; the company is so proud of its dough that it ships it to pizzerias across the country. 

Founded in 1966 by two taxi drivers and a friend of theirs, Gino's East, renowned for its Chicago deep-dish pizza and famous for the amount of guests that have "left their mark" in its dining rooms, currently has 10 Chicago-area locations, plus  five in Texas and one in Wisconsin. Pizzas, with Gino's famous golden crust and chunky sauce, are available in four, six, or eight slices, and come in styles including four-cheese, Chicago Fire (with extra-spicy sausage), and vegetarian (with asparagus, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, peppers, squash, and zucchini). Thin crust pizza is also available, but when in Chicago...

A Greater Cincinnati institution for more than 60 years, LaRosa's was founded by Buddy LaRose in 1954 and is still owned by his family. There's a wide variety of calzones, hoagies, pastas, appetizers (including its famous rolled "Rondos," which are similar to mini-stromboli), wings, salads, and desserts; the whole menu is available for delivery. As for the pizza, it's available in four sizes, four crusts (traditional, hand-tossed, crispy pan, or multigrain honey), and there are nearly 30 sauce and topping options. 

Beggars has 23 locations throughout Chicago, and is certainly holding its own amongst a very crowded deep-dish field. Established in 1976, it specializes in pizzas made fresh to order (40 minutes well spent), par-baked pizzas for carryout, and stuffed pizzas (50 minutes well-spent). Other menu items include nachos, fried ravioli, mozzarella-stuffed breadsticks, wings, Italian beef sandwiches, and burgers.

Sbarro got its start in 1956 Brooklyn, when the Sbarro family opened an Italian market. Eleven years later, the first modern-style Sbarro was launched in the borough's Kings Plaza Shopping center, selling self-serve Italian fare with an emphasis on the pizza. Even though the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed 155 locations in 2014, Sbarro is still serving New York-style pizzas on hand-stretched dough with a wide variety of toppings, as well as salads and classic Italian-American pastas and entrées. The chain is also in the midst of a major brand makeover and expansion, opening its first-ever standalone restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, last September. 

In Chicago, Lou Malnati's is synonymous with deep-dish pizza, and today there are 44 locations in the Chicago area. The buttery crust recipe has been passed down to Malnati's sons, who run the business today; the mozzarella comes from the same dairy that's supplied the cheese for more than 40 years; the sausage blend is made according to a family recipe; water is shipped to each location from Lake Michigan; and every pizza is handmade from scratch. In the mood for one but nowhere near Chicago? It will ship anywhere in the country. 

Donatos was founded by Jim Grote in 1963. Today there are nearly 200 locations across seven states, most of them in Ohio. The chain is famous for its thin crust and "edge-to-edge" toppings (more than 100 pieces of pepperoni come on each pepperoni pie), and specialty pizzas include the Serious Meat with pepperoni, sausage, ham, ground beef, bacon, and aged provolone; and the Chicken Spinach Mozzarella, topped with fresh mozzarella, chicken breast, roasted garlic, Roma tomatoes, chopped spinach, and a Romano-Parmesan blend. Gluten-free, hand-tossed, and thicker-crust pizzas are also available, along with oven-baked sandwiches, salads, and wings.

When friends Peter Cooperstein and Mike Forter set out in the mid-1980s to open an East Coast-style pizzeria in San Mateo, California, they discovered that all great pizzerias had a brick oven. Today, each of Amici's 11 Bay Area locations has a brick oven of its own. Pizzas served at the stylish restaurants come in four sizes (from seven to 15 inches across), in unique regional-inspired varieties including New Haven White Clam (clams, garlic, olive oil, and bacon), Philly (roasted peppers and onions, housemade hot or mild Italian sausage), and Trentino (mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, feta, baby spinach, red onion, pancetta, and Meyer lemon olive oil). 

The recipe for Giordano's famous stuffed pizza dates back nearly 200 years, to a double-crusted Italian Easter pie served every year in Turin, but the recipe didn't make its way stateside until 1974, when Italian immigrants Efren and Joseph Boglio opened the first location of this chain in Chicago. Today, there are more than 50 locations in Chicago and its environs, three in Florida, and one each in Indianapolis and Minneapolis. Its massive, deep-dish pies are a Chicago must-eat. 

"Papa" John Schnatter opened the first Papa John's in the back of his father's tavern in 1984, and today it's the third-largest pizza chain in the U.S., behind Pizza Hut and Domino's, with about 4,200 locations in all 50 states. The emphasis on fresh dough, fresh-cut vegetables, and high-quality never-frozen ingredients has attracted an enthusiastic fan base (as have offerings like a Double Bacon 6-Cheese pizza), and the cheese sticks and dipping sauces alone are crave-worthy. The chain recently made headlines when it was announced that it will be the completely ditching all artificial flavors and colors, and will only use antibiotic-free chicken. 

The first Pizza Hut was opened by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in Wichita in 1958, at a time when pizza parlors in the region were still a rarity. It took off, and soon the trademark red roof, which has since been retired, was sprouting up all across the country. Never afraid to experiment with new "pizza-esque" products like the P'Zone, the Cheesy Bites Pizza, and the much-missed, two-crusted Priazzo, it has occasionally struck gold, like with its now-ubiquitous Stuffed Crust Pizza. In 2014, it really went outside of the box by introducing its "Flavor of Now" menu, with nearly a dozen new pizzas utilizing new ingredients like Peruvian chiles, premium salami, and fresh spinach, and new sauces like honey sriracha and balsamic reduction. While that new initiative wasn't as successful as the company hoped, it is still working hard on new innovations and offerings, including a new $5 value menu. If there's one chain that's not afraid to reinvent itself or get a little silly sometimes, it's Pizza Hut, and it's a philosophy that's obviously served the company quite well, as it has more locations than any other pizza chain, with more than 6,000 in the United States and more than 5,000 worldwide.   

By a thin margin, California Pizza Kitchen had staked its claim as America's favorite pizza chain. Founded in 1985 in Beverly Hills by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, the casual dining chain is renowned for its innovative pizzas, including the barbecue chicken pizza, which is now ubiquitous but was basically invented there. The chain, which is constantly expanding, also does a lot of community outreach and fundraising. The menu is loaded with gourmet pizza offerings like Thai Chicken, Habanero Carnitas, and California Club, and seasonal offerings. Small plates, wine flights, and salads like caramelized peach with pecans, cranberries, and gorgonzola have a distinctly fine-dining feel, but the approach is always casual and fun. Congratulations CPK, you're America's favorite pizza chain!