BALTIMORE — Dave Portnoy, the president of Barstool Sports, stopped by a Baltimore pizzeria this week for an assessment and promised to give the owner $60,000 to keep the store open another year.
In a video posted to social media on Monday, Portnoy visited TinyBrickOven in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood for one of his signature pizza reviews.
“People say it’s a Christmas miracle,” says Will Fagg, owner of TinyBrickOven. It feels a bit like a Christmas miracle!”
During the video, Portnoy quickly learns that owner Will Fagg plans to close TinyBrickOven within days.
Fagg explains to Portnoy that the store has not been able to obtain a liquor license.
“We can’t get our liquor license here,” Fagg said. “Our politicians have given this market here their liquor license but they won’t give us ours… it’s really disappointing”
“We’re just not making any money, man. It was crazy,” he adds. “The market opened and everyone inside was allowed to sell alcohol and we were never allowed to sell alcohol…”
While waiting for the pizza, Portnoy shares a hint of his plan, turning to the camera and saying, “We gotta keep this place open.”
As he eats the “very good, thin, New York style” pizza, Portnoy points to a sticker on the box stating that TinyBrickOven will close on December 25 without financial assistance.
Portnoy then asks Fagg how much money he needs to stay open for a year, eventually landing on $60,000, to which Portnoy agrees, “Done.”
“Oh my God, that’s incredible,” Will said.
Portnoy said Fagg can expect to receive the money before Christmas. He rated the pizza with a 7.9.
“We’ve never had an audience like this…”
The video went viral and on Christmas Eve, TinyBrickOven had a line out the door and the phones were ringing off the hook.
“We’ve never had a crowd like this,” Will said.
Cynthia Streater, a TinyBrickOven employee, says if anyone deserves this, it’s Will, “my guardian angel.”
Streater told WJZ Reporter Caroline Foreback that Will found her in the cold after she missed her bus last weekend and offered her a ride home and a part-time job.
“He says, ‘You look like you’re freezing… why don’t you come in and get warm?'”
After the video went viral, donations continued to pour in. TinyBrickOven’s fundraising surpassed $50,000 Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s an incredible feeling, I mean I’ve always had a lot of support from the community… it’s overwhelming and I thank everyone so much,” Will said.
According to The Baltimore Banner, Portnoy was seen in mid-December at several restaurants in Maryland, including Frank’s Pizza & Pasta on Bel Air Road in Baltimore and Pizza John’s in Essex.
According to The Baltimore Banner, Portnoy has been involved in a number of past controversies, including doubling down on racist and misogynistic comments.
He also lost a defamation lawsuit against Insider.com in 2022 after they published two stories quoting women accusing Portnoy of sexual assault and misconduct, The Washington Post reported.
He started filming pizza reviews in 2013 and now has an app and website called ‘One Bite’.
Closing restaurants in Baltimore
Several Baltimore restaurants have announced closures in recent weeks, including Mother’s schedule which has a location in Federal Hill.
In early December, the restaurant announced that it would close on January 19, 2025. Owner Dave Liever told WJZ it’s time to close this chapter and focus on the restaurant’s other locations.
“Now there are a lot of places here, 25 bars and restaurants,” he said. “The restaurant business is tough. You know, anyone who lasts that long is saying something.”
Nacho Mamas recently announced it is closing two of its locations, one in Towson and one in Canton, after three decades in the industry. The owner did not give a reason but said both locations will close on January 12, 2025.
