Papa Roni’s has a perfect pickle pizza to pack a punch

BGNN staff report

Perk up your ears pickle lovers. Pop in to Papa Roni’s for the perfect pickle pizza that really packs a punch.

Try saying that five times fast.

But follow that tongue twister by giving your tastebuds a real treat by sinking your teeth into that perfect piece of pickle pizza pie.

Two local businesses are collaborating to resurrect a Barberton pizza original, according to a Papa Roni’s news release.

Three years after disappearing from the market, an iconic local pizza is returning in its original form. Back in 2009, Barberton native, Joe Semansky opened the Red Horse Winery on his scenic farm property at the edge of Barberton. Six years later, Red Horse’s Bob Golic BlackBerry Wine (named for the WNIR radio personality and former Cleveland Browns player) gained honors garnering a first-place prize in a statewide wine competition. Red Horse became widely known for not only its acclaimed wines, but for introducing dill pickle pizza to Barberton in 2018. The pie consisted of a delicious garlic white sauce on a thin crust topped with a multi-cheese blend, high quality dill slices and other proprietary spices. It was a creation of Semansky’s wife, Kelly Cummins, who had first experienced the unique idea in her travels and wanted to bring her own version of it to their winery customers.

The distinctive pizza was wildly popular with Red Horse customers, but it abruptly disappeared when the couple had an opportunity to sell the farm back in Spring 2021. The popular winery was closed down and they moved to Fort Myers, Florida. Entrepreneur Joe Semansky couldn’t just sit around in retirement and the family has now opened a popular distillery in Fort Myers using Semansky’s  backgrounds in chemistry and wine making, but there’s no pizza sold at the new distillery.

Not long after the Red Horse Winery was founded, another Barberton favorite, Papa Roni’s Pizza entered the marketplace. Owners Bob Wilson and Dan Urbancic had noted the popularity of the pickle pizza and the void left in the market when Red Horse closed down.

This past winter, Bob Wilson arranged a meeting in Florida with the Red Horse operators and floated the idea of bringing their pickle pizza creation back to Barberton.

“We could have concocted our own Papa Roni’s version, but I only wanted to do this if it could be THE original
Red Horse recipe,” Wilson said in the news release. “It was a Barberton original – maybe even a bit of history, and we wanted to carry on the legacy.”

The Semanskys were excited about the idea and having their business name associated with Papa Roni’s new offering felt like them giving something lasting back to their hometown. The original recipe was shared and permission to use the Red Horse name has been granted. On June 5, a little more than three years after it suddenly vanished, the Red Horse Pickle Pizza will once again be available – exclusively at Papa Roni’s. There will be various associated promotions forthcoming at Papa Roni’s, according to the news release. And who knows? There may even be a rare remaining bottle of that legendary Bob Golic BlackBerry wine show up.

Papa Roni’s will keep patrons posted on pickle pizza promotions.