Our Story — Oakley to Midwest
How Oakley shaped Dewey's Pizza in 1998
Good pizza tastes better sitting down. Dewey's Pizza began in Oakley, Cincinnati in 1998, founded by Andrew DeWitt — one neighborhood room that grew into roughly 25 to 28 company-owned dining rooms.
From that Oakley shop grew a slow, deliberate regional chain across the Midwest — no franchising, same sit-down format.
Oakley origin — 1998
Where it started
Cincinnati in 1998 kept the sit-down room
Oakley gave instant feedback
Oakley offered walkable blocks, independent storefronts, and regulars who would try something new. Opening there gave the first Dewey's Pizza shop immediate neighborhood feedback on pies, salads, and service. That urban, dine-in character stuck — later rooms in Ohio and beyond kept the sit-down format rather than shifting to delivery counters.
Founder Andrew DeWitt
Andrew DeWitt founded Dewey's Pizza in 1998 after moving back to his hometown, and remains the public face most associated with the origin story. Coverage ties culture and quality standards to his leadership and Cincinnati return. This is not a rapid-franchising story — it reads as a local operator building one good room, then repeating it carefully.
The Oakley block — independent shops, regular foot traffic, room to learn.
How it grew
Why only company-owned, and why slow
Dewey's has been described as operating only company-owned restaurants, with no franchising in its structure. That choice supports tighter control over service and product consistency across states — and explains deliberate expansion over nearly three decades. Fewer openings, steadier rooms.
For visitors, the benefit is familiarity: a room in Kansas feels related to one in Oakley — same rails, same pace.
Edwardsville, Illinois
A hardware store became a dining room
The Edwardsville room at 112 E. Vandalia St. opened in March 2012 in a former hardware store. Local coverage highlights custom pies, salads, and craft beer in that converted space — high ceilings and long floors that read differently from new construction, and regulars notice.
Adaptive reuse like this shows how neighborhood buildings shaped the brand's feel across dewey's pizza locations.
Identity
Creative pies, not a race for scale
While national players like Papa Johns and Pizza Hut competed on accessibility and scale, Dewey's leaned into creative specialty pies, salads, and seasonal rotation. Craft beer pairing reinforced the full-service, upscale casual position — each visit carries a small sense of discovery without changing the core format.
Marco's Pizza illustrates the mid-market lane between value and premium, competing on familiarity with a larger footprint. Dewey's competes on neighborhood fit, menu range, and service consistency within a smaller area. Scale explains reach; company ownership explains control.
What the history means for your visit
- Expect to sit downA full table meal with a menu that gives you choices — pies, salads, seasonal specials.
- Ask the staffStaff can describe seasonal pies and craft beer pairings — that guidance is part of the format.
- Cincinnati roots, local beerTone and detail travel from Oakley, while beer and seasonal items shift by neighborhood.
- Steady and localSimilar standards with local variation — the direct result of the Oakley start and company-owned model.
The point
Slow growth was the plan, not the delay
One good room in Oakley, repeated carefully across five states — deweys pizza stayed company-owned so every dining room could feel like the first one. That is why the story still reads in the visit.
Continue
Taste the story in the room
See what is on the pass this week, find the closest dining room, or read how a visit runs from door to table.
Good to know
- 1318 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Mon–Sun: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Questions and answers