This pizza voted best in Beaufort County by Island Packet readers is only $3.14 for Pi Day
Just in time for “Pi Day,” Local Pie has been named the winner in a weeks-long quest to find the best pizza in Beaufort County.
Today, March 14, has become a national holiday to celebrate the number 3.14 by eating pizza and other kinds of pie, too.
Local Pie, which has locations on Hilton Head and in Bluffton, is the victor after nearly 130,000 votes across the nomination round and four separate rounds of voting.
“I think it just speaks volumes to how people in the Lowcountry really feel about the restaurants, their favorites, their pizza,” said Chef Lee Lucier, chief operating officer of the Richardson Group which owns both Local Pie locations.
He said he was excited to see so much local participation in the contest. Forty-seven restaurants from across the county were nominated, and the top 16 moved into the voting rounds.
“It was all local restaurants, mom-and-pops, family-owned small companies here in the Lowcountry,” he said. “We couldn’t be happier to be one of the finalists and the winner.”
That pride is appropriate for a restaurant with “local” in its name. For Lucier, Local Pie isn’t just an indication of where the ingredients come from.
“It’s about having local ownership, having local staff, and buying locally when we can,” he explained. It’s also about making sure employees have access to health insurance and partnering with Lowcountry nonprofits and schools to give back to the community.
The pizza
While the contest may have been a game — people could vote multiple times and the only prize was bragging rights — Lucier said Local Pie takes making pizzas seriously.
Pizza dough is made in-house daily.
“Our dough is aged one to two days, which helps with the fermentation and the flavor of the crust,” Lucier explained.
Once it’s topped with sauce, cheese and toppings, the pizza goes into a wood-burning oven kept at a temperature of 800 to 900 degrees.
“What that does is a quick cook for the pizza. It gets a little browning, a little char sometimes which we love, and it allows the flavor of fermentation to stay within the crust,” Lucier said.
Cheese pizza is among Local Pie’s most popular orders, along with the classic pepperoni. Other favorites are “The Monkey,” a garlic olive oil white pie topped with mozzarella, parmesan, ricotta and herbs, and the “build-your-own” option.
Pizzas come in 10-inch and 16-inch rounds and range in price from $9 to $26 depending on the size and toppings.
The menu also includes starters, salads, calzones, sub sandwiches and dessert.
Pi Day special
On Tuesday, March 14, the menu shifts to accommodate the crowds that show up for the Pi Day special.
Customers can get a 10-inch classic pie for $3.14 from 11:30 a.m. through 9 p.m. at both Bluffton and Hilton Head locations.
It will be all hands on deck for the staff as they serve about 1,500 pizzas between the two restaurants.
“They’re all made per order, and it’s quite an endeavor for the staff just to pump out that many pizzas,” Lucier said. “I would say about 90% of our pies are done in three hours.”
What’s next for Local Pie?
Local Pie opened on Hilton Head in 2015 and proved popular enough that a second location opened in Old Town Bluffton the following year.
The two restaurants employ 35 people in the winter months and ramp up to almost that double that number during the busier tourist season.
Within the next year, Local Pie plans to open a third location in the New Riverside area of Bluffton.
If you go
- Where: 55 New Orleans Road, Suite 106, Hilton Head
- Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- Phone: 843-387-PIES
- Website: localpie.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/localpiehhi
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- Where: 15 State of Mind St., Bluffton
- Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Monday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday brunch
- Phone: 843-837-PIES
- Website: localpie.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/localpiebluff
