A returning favorite and a first-time competitor earned the community’s votes during Owensboro Times Pizza Week, with Donatos winning the “People’s Slice” award for traditional pizza and Rosie Helen’s Treats & More taking the outside-the-box honor.
For Donatos, the recognition marked a second consecutive “People’s Slice” win. Marketing Director Leanna Byrne said the repeat honor reflected the support the business feels from its customers.
“It means a lot to us,” Byrne said. “That means that the community loves and supports us, and we very much appreciate that.”
Donatos’ Alfredo Meats Tomato featured a house-blended sauce of marinara, creamy Alfredo, roasted garlic, and Romano, layered with provolone and fresh mozzarella. It was topped edge to edge with sausage, deli salami, and Italian-seasoned meatballs. It was finished with a signature drizzle and served with fresh, crunchy pickles.
Byrne said the idea came from the team sharing its preferences and building around an Italian theme.
“It was just a combination of our team deciding what they like the best, and we also went with an Italian theme,” she said. “Donatos means to give a good thing, and that’s what we try to do.”
Byrne said employees also enjoyed connecting with other participating businesses and meeting new customers.
“We love the community aspect and the camaraderie. Trading pizzas is our favorite part of this, and we love seeing new customers, and it’s just super fun,” she said.
Donatos has locations at 3415 New Hartford Road and 2601 West Parrish Avenue.
For Rosie Helen’s owner Sebree Brown, the outside-the-box win carried a personal meaning. Brown entered the competition with a sweet potato cookie creation inspired by her grandmother, who was from Georgia and died in November 2022.
“This is my first time ever doing a competition like this, and I did it mainly to honor my grandma,” Brown said.
Brown said seeing people enjoy the creation and earning the award was “mind-blowing.”
Rosie Helen’s, located at 1212 East 18th Street, entered Love at First Bite, an 8-inch sweet potato cookie pizza topped with apple butter, pumpkin-orange buttercream, caramelized shaved sweet potatoes, toasted marshmallows, buttery brown sugar crumble, and white chocolate shavings. It was inspired by Southern sweet potato casserole and grandmother Rosie’s Georgia roots.
Brown said sweet potato cookies were something her grandmother enjoyed making. Drawing on those Southern roots gave her a starting point for an entry that customers said reminded them of fall and Thanksgiving.
“They did say it wasn’t really too sweet, and it kind of felt like fall and Thanksgiving,” Brown said. “So I kind of felt like it brought them back to their home roots too.”
Brown said she had been building her small business for about a year and saw Pizza Week as an opportunity to introduce her work to more people. Encouragement from others helped persuade her to enter.
“The People’s Slice awards give customers a chance to celebrate their favorites,” said Christy Chaney, co-owner of Owensboro Times and Pizza Week organizer. “Having a returning winner in Donatos and a first-time participant in Rosie Helen’s makes this year’s results especially fun.”]
The other People’s Slice finishers were:
Traditional pizza
- Second: Niko’s Bakery & Cafe — Saturday Night Special. Located at 601 Emory Drive, Niko’s entered a pizza with a light, fluffy, crispy crust topped with sun-dried tomato pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, freshly cracked black pepper, fresh herbs, and Parmesan crema. It was inspired by the pizza the family makes at home every Saturday night.
- Third: 54 Pizza East and West — Sweet Swine O’ Mine. With locations at 3101 Alvey Park Drive East and 1700 Starlite Drive, 54 Pizza entered homemade stuffed-crust dough brushed with garlic butter and layered with house pizza sauce, apple-maple bacon jam, Grande mozzarella and provolone, pepperoni, and bacon. It was finished with sharp cheddar for a sweet, smoky, savory pizza.
Outside the box
- Second: Becca Bakes — Want S’more’s Pizza? Located at 4026 Frederica Street, Becca Bakes entered a chocolate chip cookie crust baked with graham cracker crumble, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows. It was finished with toasted marshmallows, chocolate chips, and a marshmallow glaze.
- Third: Cold Stone Creamery — Ultimate Waffle Explosion. Located at 5140 Frederica Street, Cold Stone entered a homemade waffle cone base topped with vanilla whipped icing, sprinkles, brownies, fudge, and cake batter ice cream.
“We want Pizza Week to help people discover businesses they may not have tried before,” Chaney said. “Our hope is that someone comes in for a special creation and finds a place they’ll keep coming back to throughout the year.”
By The Owensboro Times