Favorites Pizza named best in Western New York

Popular Lewiston pizzeria takes top pie pole position in NFP’s annual contest

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

Over the course of the local professional football team’s season, Niagara Frontier Publications asked readers to vote for the best chicken wings, pizza, and place to watch a sporting event. This year’s winners include:

WNY’s Best Pizza – Favorites Pizza & Wings

Two locations: 781 Cayuga St., Lewiston; and 3034 Sweet Home Road, Amherst

Halfway through an interview on Wednesday, Aurora Campbell, a manager at Favorites Pizza & Wings in Lewiston, stopped to observe another Josh.

“Josh was just in here. His favorite pizza is Hawaiian with hot peppers on it,” Campbell said.

Now, it’s not that this customer is well-known, necessarily. Rather, it’s the idea of getting to know customer, well, favorites, that is important to the eatery team.

“We know them all really well,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of regulars coming in and out, and it's just amazing. Most of the time, us girls, we know their order before they even come in. They're consistent. They're happy. They love it.”

What makes this remarkable is that customers are not just choosing items from a small menu. No, at Favorites, there is more than two-dozen types of specialty pizza on the menu and, typically, up to a dozen-and-a-half different types of pizza slices – plus dinner items and more than 50 different sorts of subs.

“We take what our customers give us, and we take note of that, and we really just love to accommodate them no matter what,” Campbell said.

“We all like being creative,” manager Austin Regis said. “If we come up with something, we can just put it on the menu or run it as a special, and that's why the customers come because, if a customer comes in with a suggestion, we can run it as a lunch special or put it on the menu.”

“If we have it, we're going to make it,” Campbell said. “If we're able to make it, we will do whatever we can. We’re customer-based. That’s all we care about: the customers.”

In turn, those customers voted Favorites as WNY’s Best Pizza.

“Honestly, it means everything, just because our customers are so loyal,” Campbell said. “They're everything to us.”

Now, Favorites can get busy – particularly at lunch and dinner, and on those game days. Even then, “We're very accommodating; we don't say no to anybody,” Campbell said. “So, whatever they want, we will give to them and we will make it work.”

While it might be daunting to watch the crew hustling around the open kitchen, Campbell pointed out, “Our guys are amazing. I mean, they're the best. I would put them up against anybody around. They kill it. We’ll have hundreds of slips on the board and they don't (flinch). They're hard workers, and we appreciate them more than anything.

“Our customer service – we pride ourself on that.”

“We're a well-oiled machine,” Regis said.

“We are a machine,” Campbell emphasized. “If you come in on game day, on Sunday, it's just like everyone is just where they need to be all the time. They're working hard. They don't sit down for hours.”

Favorites offers New York-style thin-crust pizza, plus deep-dish and pan pizzas.

Campbell said pies are more popular than trays, and the top-selling slice is the award-winning honey-garlic chicken with bacon.

Her, ahem, favorite is the broccoli cheddar. Regis prefers traditional cheese and pepperoni.

In addition to its pizza, the Lewiston location is celebrated for its community support.

Campbell noted owner Charles Brigham’s generosity.

“I am so proud to work in this place,” she said. “He gives to the schools; anything for the kids, he’ll do – it's no question. He will do whatever it takes. I handle the donations, and the donations he gives out, it's so humbling to see, and it's just amazing.”

More than 700 votes were cast in this contest. Stay tuned to see who won the other categories.

Favorites Pizza & Wings managers Austin Regis and Aurora Campbell show off some of WNY’s Best Pizza.