In Nashville, chef Michael Hanna started making his very specific style of pizza—sfincione, a pillowy soft, cheese-filled, breadcrumb-doused delight—under the name St. Vito Focacceria during the pandemic.

Well-documented on social media, Hanna was making just a handful of pizzas at the beginning, but the business skyrocketed when he got a supportive thumbs up from his peers, like chefs Trevor Moran of Locust and Andy Little of Josephine, among others.