I don't think Wick's has ever been in the top spot in Louisville pizza. The last Impellizerri's just forever closed (in N'Albany), sadly, but Bearno's was always better than Wick's. (People are welcome to fight me on that. Wick's gets higher rated in people's heads sometimes simply because of its proximity to bars and usefulness as drunk food. Take off the drunk goggles and its not as good as you think.) Then there's all the recent up-and-comers like The Post.
You're right...Wick's has always been overrated(and overpriced).
Bearno's is probably my favorite pizza ever. I've since moved all over the US, and haven't found a damn thing that comes close in taste or style. It's definitely a love/hate relationship...you either love a billion tiny meatballs, or don't.
I've had a weird time explaining "Louisville Style" pizza to outsiders or that Louisville is a bit of a "pizza nexus" where all the styles of pizza meet and mingle. No matter the style of pizza that I want, I can find someone to sell it to me. But the "home" style that Bearno's/Wick's/Boomboz/Impellizerri's (RIP) build I don't know where else to find that and describing it is tough. ("It seems thin like New York style, but it is thicker than that because it has to hold all the toppings not just cheese and maybe pepperoni, something truly supreme like half a deli and a full salad. Yet it also isn't crispy like a cracker like Cincinnati style or [shiver] St. Louis style.") I found a pizza place one time in DC that was really close. I don't know if I could find it again. I've also lived in pizza deserts on the West Coast where the choices were nothing but Papa Johns and Pizza Hut for miles (both headquartered in Louisville, which is its own weird thing; truly a "pizza nexus"). So many cities think they know what pizza is and what the best kind is. Not everyone believes me that I think Louisville figured it out: the best kind of pizza is always whatever kind of pizza that you want today (feel like Chicago style or Detroit style or New York style today? go for it!), but the second best kind is a hybrid inspired by all of those and has to go toe to toe with all of those that I don't think exists anywhere but Louisville. I don't expect many people to believe me that have never lived in Louisville, and despite the big power chains being from Louisville, there's nobody who has felt like exporting "our" pizza and no one even knows there is a "Louisville style". It's fascinating.
In fact, pizza aside, Louisville punches wayyyy above its weight in food. I guess I took it for granted, and assumed every city was like that. Nope, not even close.
Re: pizza, apparently people in Ohio call it Dayton style pizza. Marion's looks a lot like Bearnos, but I've never tried it!
Bearnos as a company is pretty scummy(see footnote), else I'd try to franchise one where I live. I'd love to know their suppliers and processes to start a competitor, one day.
Footnote:
I left Louisville for good exactly 2 days after their Hepatitis admission. They went on the news promising to make it right and pay.
I got a shot, out of pocket. Talked to 'management' at the location and they had no idea what I was talking about, then told me to quit worrying about it. I pressed on and submitted receipts, kept following up. Never saw a dime. But worse, they knew they were lying. Claimed to not receive anything, but I had copies so emailed it. Every person directed you to someone else, impossible to reach because 'theyre busy.' After 3 weeks or so of their game, I just gave up as it was costing me more of my time than money I'd ever see.
Might make sense for like, Google, not a tiny little pizza company with a few locations.
I'm not even mad about the money... I'm mad they had the nerve to make an announcement they had no intention of following up on.
Louisville punching above its weight in cuisine is another one of those topics I find I have to try to explain to outsiders. It comes up a lot in cost of living discussions around the possibility of a relocation plan to potential jobs in interviews. I know and appreciate that I have been incredibly spoiled. I've had fantastic meals made by Beard Award Winning Chefs and that wasn't a gala I RSVPed months in advance, that was just an ordinary Friday night where I walked in to their restaurant without a reservation and snagged a table or a bar stool. I rarely think to even get reservations more than a day or two in advance, even for some of the fanciest places in town.
I've seen statistics from various food magazines that rank Louisville as high as third behind NYC and LA for number of high rated restaurants per capita and I believe those statistics. I've been in other cities and have heard people ask with awe and reverence if I've ever tried various Louisville fixtures because their reputation proceeds them or because the head chef of some other restaurant "studied" there for a time. I do think I'm incredibly spoiled.
