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The Atlanta Pizza Scene Has Come a Long Way

Not too long ago, if you wanted a truly great pizza in the Atlanta metro area, your options were limited. Chain restaurants dominated the landscape, and finding something with real character — hand-stretched dough, a properly blistered crust, ingredients that actually tasted like something — required either luck or a long drive. But the Atlanta pizza scene has evolved in a big way, and right here in Cobb County, something special has arrived that takes it to a whole new level.

From Chain Pies to Craft Pizza: Atlanta Grows Up

Over the past decade, Atlanta has seen a genuine food renaissance. World-class chefs, independent restaurants, and passionate food entrepreneurs have transformed the metro into a dining destination worth talking about. Pizza was no exception. Neapolitan-style spots (Antico) New York-style slices (Varasano’s, Solar Slice), Detroit-style deep dishes (Yandys) — Atlanta started collecting pizza styles the way a music lover collects records.

But there was one style missing from the collection. One tradition that food obsessives had been quietly chasing for years without finding it anywhere in Georgia. New Haven apizza — the charred, thin-crusted, high-temp fired style that built its reputation in the small pizza joints of New Haven, Connecticut — was nowhere to be found in the Atlanta area. Until now.

New Haven Apizza Lands in Marietta — and Changes Everything

Ah-Beetz New Haven Pizza opened at Barrett Creek Plaza in Marietta, GA, and brought with it something Cobb County had never seen before: authentic New Haven apizza, fired at 750°F+ in a high-temp natural stone oven that produces the kind of char-kissed crust you simply cannot replicate any other way.

Founded by Nicholas Laudano, a New Haven, CT native who grew up eating apizza the way it was meant to be made, Ah-Beetz is built on a single obsession — getting the crust right. And they do. The signature char that inspired the slogan “No character without char” isn’t a gimmick. It’s the result of intense heat, quality dough, and a technique refined over generations.

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports put a number on it: 8.4 for their traditional Mootz at their original Delray Beach Florida location, one of the highest scores in the Southeast. For pizza lovers, that’s not just a rating — it’s a reason to make the drive.

From the traditional Mootz pizza to the legendary White Clam Pizza made with fresh littleneck clams, every pie at Ah-Beetz is a direct connection to the New Haven tradition that put apizza on the map. If you’ve been searching for New Haven pizza in Marietta or genuine apizza in Georgia, the search is over.

Come Taste What Atlanta Has Been Missing

The Atlanta pizza scene has come a long way — and Ah-Beetz is proof that it’s still getting better. Whether you’re a lifelong New Haven apizza fan, a pizza near Town Center Mall searcher, or just someone who takes crust seriously, this is the spot.

Come find us at Barrett Creek Plaza on Barrett Pkwy in Marietta. Follow us on Instagram at @ahbeetzpizza.northgeorgia for specials and behind-the-scenes oven action. Never Fried, Always Fired — and always worth it.