President of Barstool Sports Dave Portnoy commits $60,000 to keep Baltimore pizza shop open

BALTIMORE – Dave Portnoy, the president of Barstool Sports, stopped by a Baltimore pizza shop this week for a walk-through and pledged to give the owner $60,000 to keep the store open for another year.

In one video posted on social media Monday Portnoy visited TinyBrickOven in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood for one of his signature pizza reviews.

“People say it’s a Christmas miracle,” said Will Fagg, owner of TinyBrickOven. It feels a bit like a Christmas miracle!”

Over the course of the video, Portnoy quickly learns that owner Will Fagg plans to close TinyBrickOven in a matter of days.

Fagg explains to Portnoy that the store has not been able to get a liquor license.

“We can’t get our liquor license here,” Fagg said. “Our politicians gave this market down here their liquor license but they won’t give us ours…it’s really disappointing”

“We’re just not making any money, man. It’s been crazy,” he adds. “The market opened and everyone inside was allowed to sell alcohol, and we were never allowed to sell alcohol…”

While waiting for the pizza, Portnoy shares a hint of his plan, turning to the camera and saying, “We’re going to have to keep this place open.”

As he eats the “very good thin New York-style pizza,” Portnoy points out a sticker on the box that says TinyBrickOven will close Dec. 25 without financial help.

Portnoy continues to ask Fagg how much money he needs to stay open for a year, and he finally lands on $60,000, to which Portnoy accepts, “Done.”

“Oh my God that’s unbelievable,” said Will.

Portnoy said Fagg can expect to have the money before Christmas. He rated the pizza 7.9.

“We’ve never had such an audience…”

The video went viral, and by Christmas Eve, TinyBrickOven had a line out the door and phones ringing off the hook.

“We’ve never had an audience like this,” Will said.

Cynthia Streater, a TinyBrickOven employee, says that if anyone deserves this, it’s Will, “my guardian angel.”

Streater told WJZ Reporter Caroline Foreback that Will found her stranded in the cold after she missed her bus last weekend and offered her a ride home and a part-time job.

“He says, ‘You look like you’re freezing…why don’t you come in and get warm?’

After the video went viral, the donations continued to pour in. TinyBrickOven’s fundraiser surpassed $50,000 Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s an incredible feeling, I mean, I’ve always had a lot of support from the community … it’s overwhelming and I thank everyone so much,” Will said.

According to The Baltimore BannerPortnoy was seen in mid-December at several restaurants in Maryland, including Frank’s Pizza & Pasta on Bel Air Road in Baltimore and Pizza John’s in Essex.

Portnoy has been involved in some past controversies, including doubling down on racist and misogynistic comments, according to The Baltimore Banner.

He also lost a defamation suit in 2022 against Insider.com after they published two stories that quoted women accusing Portnoy of sexual assault and misconduct, The Washington Post writes.

He started filming pizza reviews in 2013, and now has an app and website called “A bite.”

Baltimore restaurant closings

Several restaurants in Baltimore have announced closures in recent weeks, including Mother’s grid which has a location in Federal Hill.

In early December, the restaurant announced it would close on January 19, 2025. The owner, Dave Rather, told WJZ it’s time to close that chapter and focus on the restaurant’s other locations.

“Now there’s tons of places down here, 25 bars and restaurants,” he said. “The restaurant business is tough. You know, anybody who can last that long is saying something.”

Nacho Mama’s recently announced it would close two of its locations, one in Towson and another in Canton, after 30 years in business. The owner did not give a reason, but said both locations will close on January 12, 2025.