TinyBrickOven owner says Dave Portnoy’s $60,000 donation feels like ‘Christmas miracle’

This week was supposed to be the last for Will Fagg’s little pizzeria on Federal Hill, TinyBrickOven.

He had had a good run for five years, but says his inability to get a liquor license made it difficult to stay in business. He had planned to open the place Tuesday for carols and hot cocoa — a way to say a “sweet goodbye” to his pizza family and his first brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Instead, customers packed into his Light Street pizza restaurant on Christmas Eve, not to shed tears, but to enjoy his food or pick up pizzas. And celebrate his 15 minutes of internet fame. And ask for selfies with him.

“Chris, are you here?” Fagg, wearing a red chef’s hat, yelled at a customer waiting for a pizza. “Where’s Chris?”

Fagg has lived to throw pizzas another day, thanks to Dave Portnoy, the controversial founder of the blog Barstool Sports. Portnoy stopped by to review his pizza a few weeks ago, and when he found out Fagg planned to close the shop by Christmas, he pledged $60,000 to keep the place open.

He liked the pizza — and Fagg, a laid-back guy known for his support of the community.

Portnoy shared a video of his review online Monday night, and well, things have been a little hectic for Fagg ever since. As of Tuesday, it had been viewed on X, formerly Twitter, 10.7 million times on Portnoy’s account and another 6.4 million times on Barstool Sports’ account, with about 112,000 likes between the two.

On Tuesday night, Fagg couldn’t believe his luck. So he’s not closing his doors — he’s going to keep trying to make it work.

“I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before in my life, man,” Fagg told a reporter amid a rush of diners.

If it all seems a bit like a feel-good holiday movie, Fagg seems to share the sentiment. He thought it would be symbolic to close out Christmas, but instead it feels like a “Christmas miracle,” he said.

Portnoy in Baltimore

Portnoy, a Massachusetts native, began filming his pizza reviews in 2013. His “One Bite” pizza review channel has more than a million subscribers on YouTube and has since grown to include an app and a festival of the same name. He scores pizzas on a scale of 1 to 10, often using decimals.

While Portnoy is popular — he has 4 million followers on TikTok — his endorsement comes with an asterisk. He has doubled down on racist and misogynistic comments he previously made and lost a defamation case in 2022 against Insider.comwhich published two stories that quoted women accusing Portnoy of sexual assault and misconduct, according to The Washington Post.

Portnoy was seen in mid-December at several Baltimore-area eateries before uploading his first review of a Baltimore pizzeria Monday night. He assessed TinyBrickOven a 7.9.

The video shows Portnoy walking into the narrow pizzeria and Fagg instantly recognizes him.

“Oh my god, you’re like my hero,” Fagg says, grinning from ear to ear.

Fagg offers to cook him a fresh pizza, but Portnoy says he doesn’t have time, so the restaurateur slides one into the oven to reheat it.

Noting that he didn’t even know Portnoy was in Baltimore, he welcomes him to Charm City and points out that a friend of his had tagged Portnoy on social media to come try the pizza. He also tells him he planned to close later this month, citing his struggles to get a liquor license.

“It’s been crazy, man, it’s been absolutely crazy,” Fagg, 52, says.

The video shows Portnoy exiting the store as fake snow flutters from above. He opens a cardboard box to inspect a large cheese pizza.

“It looks good,” says Portnoy.

He praises Flagg’s cheerful demeanor and the support of veterans to the cameraman, then collects a disc. “Oh, please be good,” he says.

Portnoy takes two bites from the bottom and one from the crust.

“There’s no way this place should go out of business. None,” he proclaims.

Portnoy walks back towards the front door and asks Fagg how much money he needs to stay open for a year.

Fagg hesitates for a moment. He’s not sure. Pressed, he says he thinks he could do it with $60,000 and a liquor license to sell beer and wine.

“Done,” says Portnoy.

The men shake hands, and Fagg and a customer inside the restaurant let out a cheer.

After his visit, Portnoy posted the video on X along with a link to donate to the restaurant.

A Northern Virginia native who served as a Marine, Fagg said he’s been in the pizza business for about a decade, but only in a brick-and-mortar location since 2019.

“I’m pretty serious about my pizza, I guess,” Fagg said. “We get a lot of customers from New York and New Jersey, and we always say, ‘Hey, we have the best New York-style pizza in Baltimore.’ And they say, ‘Well, I’ll be the judge of that.'”

Fagg has asked the public for support and help in obtaining a liquor licence. He wrote a blog post in 2023 encourages customers to contact State Senate President Bill Ferguson and state dept. Luke Clippinger, who both represent the city.

“It’s time for Tinybrickoven to take the next step in our journey by getting a liquor license,” Fagg wrote. “This will allow us to enhance your dining experience and bring even more life to our beloved neighborhood.”

Was Portnoy’s visit and donation a fluke, or the result of Fagg’s years of trying to get the pizza blogger’s attention?

We may never know.

“He told me it was a fluke, but I mean, it’s really hard to believe because … we (have) wanted him to come down here for four years,” Fagg said. “I mean, his name has been on my wall for four years.”

Some customers stepped up efforts to get Portnoy’s attention on social media after Fagg announced he was closing, saying with some urging, “Please come and help.”

City Councilor Zac Blanchard said Portnoy’s donation to keep Fagg’s business alive was a great thing to happen to a great person.

“What a wonderful shout-out and opportunity from a very well-followed national platform to highlight a small business that not only makes great pizza, but has been such a supporter of the community in so many ways,” Blanchard said.

He noted that Fagg donates to local causes and always finds ways to be helpful and involved in the community. Fagg has a Pay-It-Forward program that turns donations into a hot pizza for someone in need, according to GoFundMe page for the program.

In six days, 348 people raised $18,868, surpassing the initial goal of $5,000 and then beating the $10,000 goal.

“Because of you, those in need have experienced the warmth of a warm, handmade pizza and the kindness of a caring community,” Fagg wrote on the GoFundMe. “Your support embodies the true spirit of the season – sharing comfort, love and joy. As the year draws to a close, we are reminded of the power of giving and how much stronger we are together.”

Fagg said donations have poured in for the charity since Portnoy’s review. He held up a stack of printed donation receipts.

Asked about his plans for Christmas Day, he said: “We thought we might close, but since I have, you know, maybe a few extra donations to give, I’m hoping we’ll be able to find some homeless people who will would like a hot pie.”

Christina Tkacik contributed to this story.

The story has been updated to provide the total number of page views and likes for posts about the pizzeria on X.