WE WON Best Pizza IN OAK CLIFF

And the best-pizza winner is …

Home Run Pizza

718 W. Jefferson, 214.946.9761

Runners up: Zoli’s NY Pizza and Eno’s

It says a lot about Oak Cliff that our readers’ choice of best pizza is an old-school favorite and not the trendiest place around.

Home Run Pizza opened on Jefferson Boulevard in 1986. Oak Cliff residents Paulino and Maria Montelongo bought it in 1990, having exactly no restaurant experience. Their oldest son, Richard, had been a manager under Home Run’s previous owners, and when he told his parents the place was for sale, they risked their life savings to buy it.

The Montelongos learned the business from their son, and they put all of themselves into it. To generate buzz early on, they started selling large pizzas for $5 each out of a vehicle they drove around Oak Cliff.

Paulino Montelongo Jr., who was born and raised in Oak Cliff, bought the restaurant from his parents about four years ago.

“We treat every customer as if they’re family. That makes a difference compared to big corporations like Pizza Hut and Domino’s,” he says.

Find out more about our yearlong reader’s choice contest and cast your vote for next month’s category: best breakfast/brunch. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/bestof.