Online review site Yelp has listed Naperville’s Little Pops NY Pizzeria as the 40th best place for pizza in the U.S.
In recognition of National Pizza Day on Feb. 9, Yelp posted its top 100 list, calculated on such things as volume of sales and ratings from reviews.
Little Pops, located at 1819 Wehrli Road and owned by Mike and Vicki Nelson, was the third-highest ranked pizza place in the Chicago area, coming in behind Coalfire Pizza and The StopAlong, both in Chicago.
Yelp listed Cheese Board Pizza in Berkeley, California, as the best pizza restaurant in the country.
Little Pops shared the news on its Facebook page this week.
“All we can say is wow and thank you to our amazing Little Pops Neighborhood and our incredible Little Pops team for helping us keep our NY pizza dream alive and a very special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to write a Yelp review over the years. We are truly forever grateful,” its post read.
Little Pops’ average review on Yelp is about 4.5 out of 5 stars.
“It’s humbling, to say the least,” Mike Nelson said of the Yelp list.
Vicki Nelson said she was shocked to see where they ranked.
More Top Picks Best Dive Watches
“We started our business just trying to start a living,” she said. “Honestly, this Yelp (recognition) is because of our customers. That’s honestly probably why we’re rated so high.”
Little Pops NY Pizzeria opened in 2014 after they moved to Naperville following a business failure in New York. The story of their move to the Chicago suburbs and overcoming adversity was the subject of a 2019 documentary, “NY Pizza Dreams – A Mom & Pop Story,” which is available on YouTube.
“This restaurant saved our lives and gave us the future we needed,” Vicki Nelson said.