Way back in the ’80s, Huey Lewis and the News sang that it was “hip to be square.”
Apparently, that also applies to pizza.
That’s because one of the founders of a popular local pizza chain just won big at the annual International Pizza Expo.
Frederico “Fred” Santos, co-founder of Square Pizza Co., recently won first place in the Non-Traditional category at the 2026 International Pizza Expo, which was held March 24-26 in Las Vegas.
Santos, who vied against more than 100 international competitors, won a $5,000 prize.
He was tops in his category on the strength of the Detroit-style square pie he prepared, a type that diners have come to know and love at Square Pizza Co., which has locations in Pacific Beach and East Village.
Perhaps even more impressive, he came in second in the “Pizza Maker of the Year” overall contest. In that competition, out of about 700 entries, he trailed only a Montreal-based pizza maker. As the runner-up, he received $2,500, meaning he brought home $7,500 in prize money overall.
At the competition, expert panels made of chefs and food critics scored pizzas on a 1-10 scale based on appearance, taste, crust and toppings. Contestants bring their own ingredients; ovens and refrigeration are provided on site.
Close contest
Santos won the Non-Traditional category by the slimmest of margins – his final score was 52.70, compared to 52.68 for the runner-up.
The accolades received in Las Vegas were just the latest for Santos and Square Pizza Co. In 2023, the restaurant was named Best Detroit Pizza in California by the Washington Post.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular, deep-dish pizza known for its thick, chewy crust and crispy, caramelized cheese edges. It features a reverse layering of toppings, with the cheese added first, followed by toppings like pepperoni. The sauce comes last, on top.
It’s typically cooked in a rectangular steel pan.
Santos and his business partner, Bruno Lippi, both grew up in the North Shore of Boston, but eventually moved westward and founded the first Square Pizza Co. restaurant in Pacific Beach in 2016. They opened a second location in East Village last September.
Both the Cass Street location in PB and the Park Boulevard location in East Village offer Detroit pizza and a range of square pies, including Sicilian, thin crust (aka Boston beach), vegan and even gluten-free.
Each location opens at 11:30 a.m. seven days a week; on Mondays through Thursdays, they close at 9 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, the East Village location is open until 10 p.m., and the Pacific Beach location closes at 2 a.m.
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