Imagine a pizza so perfectly crafted that it makes you question every other slice you’ve ever eaten – a harmonious blend of spicy salami, molten mozzarella, and honey drizzled with the precision of a Renaissance painter finishing their masterpiece.
Old Scratch Pizza & Beer in Dayton has created such a revelation with their Angry Beekeeper pizza, a sweet-heat flavor bomb that has Ohio residents planning road trips across the state just for a taste.
Photo credit: Allena I.
The unassuming exterior of Old Scratch gives little indication of the culinary wizardry happening inside its walls.
A simple gray brick building with a glowing neon arrow sign might not scream “destination dining,” but that’s part of its charm – like finding a secret passage to flavor country that only the initiated know about.
Step through the doors and the industrial-chic interior unfolds before you – soaring ceilings, exposed ductwork, and the unmistakable perfume of wood smoke and melting cheese hanging in the air.
The space hums with conversation and laughter bouncing off concrete floors and wooden community tables, creating an atmosphere that feels both energetic and welcoming.
At the heart of the restaurant stand the mighty wood-fired ovens, their flames visible from nearly every seat in the house.
Photo credit: Rebecca Franklin
These aren’t just cooking appliances – they’re time machines connecting modern diners to ancient traditions, reaching temperatures of 900 degrees to transform simple dough into blistered, bubbling works of art in mere minutes.
The heat radiates across the room, a primal cooking method that speaks to something deep in our collective culinary DNA.
These ovens aren’t just for show – they’re the secret behind what makes Old Scratch’s pizzas worth crossing county lines (or even state lines) to experience.
The menu at Old Scratch reads like a love letter to pizza possibilities, balancing traditional offerings with creative combinations that push the boundaries of what pizza can be.
Their Neapolitan-inspired approach respects tradition while making room for innovation, resulting in pies that feel both familiar and surprising.
The aforementioned Angry Beekeeper stands as their signature achievement – a masterclass in contrast and balance.
The spicy salami brings heat, the fresh mozzarella offers creamy richness, the basil adds herbal brightness, and the house-made hot honey ties everything together with sweet, spicy complexity.
It’s the kind of pizza that ruins you for lesser versions, the flavor equivalent of upgrading to first class and then being asked to return to economy.
For purists, the Margherita serves as the ultimate benchmark – tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, romano, and olive oil.
Simple ingredients that have nowhere to hide, revealing the true skill of the pizzaiolos crafting each pie.
The crust emerges from those roaring ovens with the perfect balance of chew and crisp, leopard-spotted with char that adds complexity rather than bitterness.
The Mt. Scratch pizza showcases tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, housemade meatballs and Calabrian chilis – a spicy, savory combination that demonstrates how thoughtfully selected ingredients can elevate the humble pizza to extraordinary heights.
For those who prefer their pizzas without red sauce, the Shroomin’ combines forest mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, roasted garlic, thyme, and white truffle oil – an earthy, aromatic experience that might have you closing your eyes to fully appreciate the depth of flavor.
The Blanco pizza brings together tomato, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and thyme for a white pizza that’s simultaneously delicate and satisfying.
The Angry Beekeeper pizza—where spicy salami meets sweet honey in a relationship more harmonious than most Hollywood marriages. Those char marks aren’t accidents; they’re flavor badges. Photo credit: Ry C.
812 S Patterson Blvd
Dayton, OH 45402
937-331-5357
440 Miamisburg Centerville Road
Centerville, OH 45458
937-886-4513
2450 Dayton Xenia Road
Beavercreek, OH 45434
937-956-6025
19 East Race Street
Troy, OH 45373
937-552-7283
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Old Scratch Pizza’s 
19 East Race Street
Old Scratch Pizza, the local destination for wood-fired pizzas and craft beer, is excited to announce that they are now open Mondays from 11 am to 9 pm, starting November 4th. Old Scratch is offering a Margherita Monday promotion to celebrate this expansion —guests can enjoy half-off Margherita pizzas and $1 off OSPils Pizza Pilsner every Monday throughout November.
Ben Smith has spent most of life in the north Dayton area (Troy). He owns a small business and travels to car dealerships around a 16 county territory. He’s been doing this for 7 years and has always been drawn to the “honey holes” restaurants. So for his lunch he’ll stop and check them out these eateries. His father is a HUGE yelper with over a million views and 1000 reviews. He decided to piggy back off what he does is to do videos, so I started using tik tok.”
Swing by your nearest Old Scratch Pizza this Saturday, December 16, and treat yourself to an unbeatable BOGO Gift Card Extravaganza!
David Portnoy is an American blogger and founder of the sports and popular culture blog Barstool Sports. One Bite with Davey Pageviews is an internet show that Portnoy created, which consists of him reviewing pizza restaurants around the world ranking them for 0 to 10.
In town for the NCAA basketball he asked on Twitter for pizza recommendations in Dayton to do his One Bite reviews. His first visit was to the the 
OSPils, is a light and crisp Italian-style pilsner, brewed in collaboration with Warped Wing Brewery.
helped hire about sixty employees for the new spot.
DaytonDining is all about sharing ways to eat on the cheap and if you watch our 
For a couple that met in culinary school, and turned an old 6000 square feet Standard Auto Parts store in an undesirable part of town, into the Miami Valley’s #1 Pizza Place (according to yelp reviews), you’d expect something special to celebrate the success of their first year of business.
Join their text club by texting OSP to 797979 and you can be eating FREE PIZZA at their Oct 18th First Anniversary celebration, which will run all day long starting at 11am. Late Tuesday night, member of the text club will get a coupon that will be valid for the Wednesday anniversary party!
Through the Cones for a Cause program, each month they’ve partnered with a local charity and all revenue from their soft -serve ice cream are donated to that organization. Between the donations and 10% of sales from a one night takeover event, OSP has donated $17,000 to organizations including, Secret Smiles of Dayton, Clothes That Work, House of Bread, Miami Valley Pit Crew, Girls on the Run, Bike Miami Valley, Brigid’s Path, Equitas Health, Oak Tree Corner, Helping Hands of Dayton and Crayons to Classrooms. If you’ve got a charity that would like to partner, sign up on the 
Old Scratch Pizza is ending their month of fundraising for Dayton Crayons to Classrooms with a DC2C Takeover! From 6pm to close, 10% of all profits at Old Scratch will go to DC2C’s mission of providing essential school supplies to the teachers of students in need. Come in for drinks and pizza to support local teachers and students!