The owners of Pizza Brain strike a pizza pose (Ryan Anderson, Joe Hunter, Michael Carter, Brian Dwyer)

October is National Pizza Month, and I decided to kick things off on October 1st by visiting the world’s only pizza museum and pizzeria, Pizza Brain, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Visually, the obsession with all things “pizza” was apparent when I walked through the door–board games; vintage photos; records; posters; old advertising; comics; valentines; toys; movies; and more. It was awesome to see a place calling attention to something we all know and love so well.

As if eating pizza wasn’t fun enough, Pizza Brain surrounds customers with pizza memorabilia.

The pizza-themed collection began with music and expanded to anything and everything, eventually leading to a Guinness Book of World Records with 561 pizza-related items two years ago. 

When I sat down to chat with Brian Dwyer and Michael Carter, two of the four owners behind Pizza Brain, their love of pizza pop culture and their neighborhood made the reason for the museum and pizzeria obvious.

According to Dwyer, they needed a place that would celebrate pizza while at the same time housing all of the pizza memorabilia that he and Carter had been collecting. What better place than a pizzeria! They teamed up with Joe Hunter and Ryan Anderson to make the dream a reality. “Pizza is such a familiar thing; people often overlook the fact that it’s such a huge part of American culture,” he says. “We don’t claim to know everything, but we’re coming from a very real, authentic place.” 

Dwyer and Carter never imagined they’d own a pizza shop, but both agree that they’re filling a void that existed to celebrate pizza in a new way. Beyond showcasing pizza-related items, Dwyer says they just want Pizza Brain to be a great pizza shop for the neighborhood they live in and love.

**Stay tuned to future issues of PMQ Pizza Magazine for the full story on Pizza Brain as well as an exclusive video interview with Brian Dwyer and Michael Carter.

Of course I tried the pizza! Pizza Brain slices rank as some of the best in Philly.