Bulletin photo by Ethan Weston Matt McWilliams makes a pizza on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023 at PieZanos. Recently a film crew for the show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” came to PieZanos to film an episode of the show with host Guy Fieri. The crew filmed inside the restaurant for two and a half days.
Ethan Weston
When Pie Zanos co-owner Renee Tiller returned to the restaurant after her break one day, she thought it was a joke when she read a note on her computer that told her to give the Food Network a callback. Five minutes into that phone conversation, Tiller said, it finally sunk in that Pie Zanos was being considered for a feature on the travel food show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”
“It took about two months of planning back and forth and submitting recipes and pictures of the restaurant and stuff before they finally gave me a confirmation that they were going to come,” Tiller said.
The filming process, which occurred in July, took only four days. One Saturday was the only day that the day-to-day business operations were significantly affected, which is when the show’s host, Guy Fieri, tasted two of Pie Zanos’ dishes.
“We just closed it and said we had a private party, and Buffalo is Buffalo, so they just read my sign and said ‘OK, come back next week,’” Tiller said.
Bulletin photo by Ethan Weston Matt McWilliams makes a pizza on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023 at PieZanos. Recently a film crew for the show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” came to PieZanos to film an episode of the show with host Guy Fieri. The crew filmed inside the restaurant for two and a half days.
Ethan Weston
The episode featuring Pie Zanos will air on the evening of Dec. 15 on the Food Network. “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” started in 2007 and has been going on for 46 seasons. Fieri is an Emmy Award-winning television host known for his early 2000s-esque style and rambunctious personality.
“He’s exactly what he seems like. He was very funny. He was very personable. He has no crazy ego. He was just in jeans and a T-shirt and we were cooking. It was fun,” Tiller said. “All I’ve just kept thinking is, ‘I have to pinch myself,’ because who would have thought that a little nobody in podunk nowhere would be able to be on this show?”
One of the dishes Fieri sampled was the carne amante pizza, which Tiller said is the Pie Zanos version of a meat lover’s pizza. The pizza features smoked brisket, Wyoming lamb and beef, spicy Italian sausage, pancetta and pepperoni. The restaurant makes its own sauce and dough.
The other item Fieri chose to sample was the chicken saltimbocca, which Tiller said has been on the menu since the restaurant first opened. Saltimbocca literally translates from Italian as “jumps in mouth.”
“It’s my best-selling dinner, and it’s delicious,” Tiller said.
Tiller and her co-owner Matt McWilliams opened Pie Zanos along Main Street in 2013. The two moved to the area from Kentucky, convinced by Tiller’s family to take over the building. Tiller said she has been working in the service industry for years.
Bulletin photo by Ethan Weston Matt McWilliams makes a pizza on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023 at PieZanos. Recently a film crew for the show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” came to PieZanos to film an episode of the show with host Guy Fieri. The crew filmed inside the restaurant for two and a half days.
Ethan Weston
Some of what makes Pie Zanos special is its atmosphere, Tiller said.
“It has an amazing atmosphere. It’s very comfortable,” Tiller said. “What I try to call it is, ‘True to the history of Buffalo – but without animal heads.’”
Tiller also tries to use local ingredients as much as possible.
“I use a ranch about 20 miles south of town for my beef, and I use my lamb out of Gillette and then I use Golden Rule Produce in the summer,” Tiller said. “I really source as much of my ingredients locally as I can.”
Tiller said she hopes the feature of Pie Zanos on the show will bring more business to Buffalo.
“‘Diners’ kind of has a cult following, and so they usually have people that travel around just to go to those restaurants,” Tiller said. “So anything that can help A, my business, and B, any of the other downtown businesses that could benefit from more tourists coming, I think that would be amazing.”
As the winter rolls around, Tiller said she also saw the show as an opportunity to draw in the locals.
“I wanted people that have never been to my restaurant in Buffalo after eight and a half years to come to my restaurant,” Tiller. “Also, I just want people to realize that just because Buffalo is a really small town, doesn’t mean we can’t have really good food.”
The only concern Tiller has as a result of the show is that the restaurant may get too busy based on the number of staff the restaurant has. Tiller said there is “such a small serving pool” in Buffalo.
Bulletin photo by Ethan Weston A finished PieZanos pizza on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023.
Ethan Weston
“I’m just very thankful I have all the family support and all the support of all the locals that keep us in business when it’s not tourist season,” Tiller said.
Dining and Cooking