Not many pizza shops can say their origin story involves stealth bombers, Harvard Business School, and a life-changing slice in France, but in Rexburg, Idaho, Righteous Slice can say exactly that. 🍕
This mom-and-pop pizzeria started as backyard pizza nights among friends and eventually grew into one of the most celebrated pizza spots in the entire country. 🇮🇹
The Neapolitan and New York-style pies coming out of this small college-town kitchen have earned attention from major national outlets, and the story behind how it all started is just as impressive as the pizza itself.
How Righteous Slice won Rexburg’s hearts
Behind Righteous Slice are Bill and Cheryl Crawford, a husband-and-wife team whose path to pizza ownership is about as unlikely as it gets.
Bill spent 13 years in the U.S. Air Force flying F-16 fighter jets and B-2 Stealth Bombers before attending Harvard Business School, and it was during a work trip to Strasbourg, France that everything changed. ✈️
He wandered into a small pizza shop run by a native Italian owner, tried what he later called the best pizza of his life, and ended up learning to make real Italian pizza in the back kitchen that same day.
That one experience stuck with Bill long after he returned to the U.S. and took a job as a business professor at BYU-Idaho.
He and Cheryl started hosting backyard pizza nights with friends, using a small wood-fired oven they towed behind their car, and eventually began selling slices at the Rexburg Farmer’s Market just to test the idea. 🔥
When customers started lining up for up to an hour to get a taste, the Crawfords knew they had something worth building, and Righteous Slice opened its doors in 2018.
Since then, Bill has competed at the world’s largest pizza-making competition in Parma, Italy, finishing first among American competitors in the classic division, and the restaurant itself landed a spot on The New York Times’ list of the best places in the country for a New York-style slice. 🏆
For a small pizzeria in a college town, that kind of national recognition has made locals fiercely proud to call it their own.
Food Highlights
- The Zealot: Pepperoni, sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, Castelvetrano green olives, and sweet bell peppers over red sauce and the house cheese blend.
- Neapolitan Popeye: House-made basil pesto, spinach, artichoke, fior di latte, provolone, and a touch of lemon.
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Godfather: House-made meatballs, pepperoni, and roasted mushrooms piled over mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan with classic red sauce.
- Praise the Lard: Spicy salami, house-made Italian sausage, and pancetta piled over mozzarella and red sauce, finished with Parmesan and fresh basil.
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New York Margherita: A New York-style crust topped with sweet tomato sauce, the house cheese blend, olive oil, and fresh basil.
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Neapolitan Che Figata!: Fior di latte, Point Reyes blue cheese, a mozzarella-provolone blend, and Romano cheese finished with fig spread and a swirl of balsamic, made with no tomato sauce at all.
- Bee Sting: Spicy salami and cup-and-char pepperoni layered over the shop’s award-winning tomato sauce and house cheese blend, finished with local Howell’s Honey and dollops of ricotta.
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New York Spud Harvest: House-made sweet Italian sausage and potato with rosemary over the house cheese blend, finished with fresh baby arugula and grated Parmesan.
Atmosphere 🕯️
Righteous Slice keeps things casual and unpretentious, with the kind of energy that fits right into its college-town setting near BYU-Idaho.
The open kitchen lets guests watch pizzas fly in and out of the imported Italian oven, the only one of its kind in the state, which cooks pies at 900 degrees in under two minutes flat. 🔥
It’s the kind of spot where students, families, and out-of-town visitors all end up shoulder to shoulder waiting for a table.
Milkshakes and a lively, community feel round out a space built more for good conversation than quiet fine dining.
Bottom Line
Visit Righteous Slice for Bill and Cheryl Crawford’s remarkable journey from fighter jets to fine pizza, a New York Times-recognized New York-style slice, inventive pies like the Bee Sting and Che Figata, an authentic imported Italian pizza oven, and a genuinely feel-good mom-and-pop story behind every order. 🍕
Address:
175 West 2nd South, Suite 100, Rexburg, ID 83440
📞 (208) 820-4597
🕔 Open Mon–Thu 11 AM–9 PM, Fri–Sat 11 AM–10 PM, closed Sunday