Cardinal Pizza — Restaurant in Westerville

As a weekly customer for years, I can attest you’d be hard pressed to find a better New York style slice in Central Ohio.

With that being said, tonight will be the last time my family buys from Cardinal Pizza.

This one is lengthy and I hope you (the prospective customer) stick around for the experience.

I genuinely feel bad for the front line and kitchen staff at Cardinal. Terrible management leaves them woefully understaffed and overworked.

Tonight (Halloween 2024), the joint was obviously struggling. Even so, the employee working the take-out register was in good spirits - talking about their expansion, the ballot measure for their liquor license and the craziness of Halloween night.

Fast forward - my pizzas are about 25 minutes late for pickup. I’ve been standing in the parlor for a shade under 35 minutes by now. Taking into account that the staff is obviously doing the best they can, I do my best to quietly and politely ask the cashier I was chatting with for an update, as I’ve got a hungry family party waiting on me.

Enter the manager. Sadly, I truly feel bad for this woman. By this point, I’ve noticed she’s been barking at telephone call-ins that they’re only taking delivery orders, because it’s apparent she hasn’t scheduled enough help for kitchen staff.

Instead of letting the cashier ask the kitchen for an update (which she said she would be more than happy to do), the manager interrupted and angrily yelled at the six deep customer line that they were understaffed and she would appreciate if customers followed their policy (a preference to pickup only when texted).

So…

Recap: as a “leader” you fail to schedule enough employees to cover one of the year’s busy nights.

As a “leader”, you fail to jump into the kitchen, where your restaurant is obviously falling behind.

As a “leader”, you yell at a customer, who wasn’t even talking to you, that was politely asking for an update on an order that was 30 minutes behind.

Nice.

There are more than enough options in Central Ohio for non-chain pizza. I’ve never seen staff at Borgata, Pasquale’s or Harvest yell at their customers.

I highly suggest you steer clear of...

Cardinal Pizza is a bit of an anomaly in the pizza world. They offer New York and Columbus style crusts under one roof! As a lifelong Ohioan, it was a difficult decision for me which crust to get? I decided to go with the NY crust with Pepperoni & cheese for a change. The crust was chewy and the toppings were tasty with the sauce being slightly tangy. Personally, I can't compare it to other NY style pizza, but I can imagine it being ranked very well in that category. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. Now my dilemma will be which type crust to get next time? I certainly want to try the Columbus style crust but the NY crust was damn good. As for the establishment, it was bustling inside on a weekday. Since I got my pizza to go, they texted me when it was ready. There was also a sign outside with them offering to bring the pizza curbside which was nice. I'll definitely return, although I'll be torn which crust to get?! Think I'll take a friend so we can share NY & CBus style pizzas in one sitting. Cardinal Pizza is on the Columbus Pizza Trail and I highly recommend them for the NY style crust. Unfortunately, I'll need to give a future update when I try the Columbus crust.

Update: I couldn't stay away long to try the Columbus Style Crust. I had a pepperoni & mushroom pizza. It had a cracker crust with edge-to-edge toppings. The sauce was plenty and fairly neutral as far as spiciness. I like adding parmesan and crushed red pepper to pizza so I can make it spicy as I like. It was very good.

After trying both New York and Columbus style crusts at Cardinal Pizza, I have to say I like the NY style better. Both are great. If you're buying for a crowd, I highly suggest the NY crust since it is more filling. If you're watching carbs, get the Columbus crust. Try them both for yourself because I enjoyed trying both New York and Columbus style crusts from Cardinal Pizza, and I'm glad they offer both under...

Was there this morning catching up with some old friends from out of town. Senior group retirement age. It was a good experience up until we were leaving. One of the ladies in the group was being accused of trying to steal a fork. My lady friend went to get an extra napkin realize there was a fork inside the napkin, she unwrapped it and put the napkin in her purse and set the fork on the table. You hear the owner across the way accuse her of trying steal the fork and pen on the table. I was appalled to hear this lady accusing my friend across the room with other patrons sitting near by. It makes no sense in the first place, why would you steal a cheap fork when you’re leaving money on the table for tips. The owner could use some coaching when it comes to her people skills. Her husband who was sitting at the bar followed us out eased dropped on our conversation. He spoke up as well and made the same accusation. They did not check to see if anything was taken. The banter went on for a few minutes. By this time his wife came out and joined in saying how we were trying to steal a fork. Which by the way, no fork or pen was ever taken. At this point, we decided to walked away, as I turned around I hear them mocking us and give each other high fives. Totally disrespectful. If this is a common practice on how cardinal pizza and its owners treat their customers, I will never come back to this establishment and will let others know as well. It’s a real shame, we have been there many times. This situation should have been handled in a more...