GREENFIELD –By the end of this week’s Hancock County 4-H Fair, hundreds of people will have visited its counters.
They’re stopping by the old concrete structure to order up a freshly-baked pizza with a buttery, flaky crust and layers upon layers of sliced mozzarella.
Some customers come up and say their pizza is the main reason they return to the fair each year, said Larry Gray, York Rite Pizza chairman.
York Rite Pizza, the oldest vendor at the Hancock County Fairgrounds, celebrates its 55th birthday at this year’s fair, Gray said. Gray, who has worked at the pizza joint since 1967, said the popularity of their specialty pizza has stood the test of time and retained its popularity through the years.
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When the stand opened in 1963, York Rite Pizza was set up in a tent, with ground up corncobs for the floor, Gray said. Five decades later, they’ve set up shop in their concrete building. The setting changed, but the ingredients and recipes have stayed exactly the same, he said.
Fair-goers frequently ask the employees of York Rite where they can pick up more pizza when the fair isn’t in town, Gray said with a chuckle.
“They just come in and say ‘where’s your shop at? We need to get your pizza more often,'” Gray said. “But we don’t have one.”
Fortunately for York Rite’s biggest fans, the organization occasionally sells “take and bake” ready-made pizzas at special community events on a few occasions throughout the year, Gray said.
York Rite Pizza’s name stems from each of the founders being involved with the fraternal organization, which is an arm of freemasonry, the largest and oldest fraternity in the world, Gray said. Almost all of the York Rite Pizza staff is comprised of York Rite members and their families, Gray said.
They try to make their business model reflect the ethical standards taught in masonry, so York Rite Pizza donates a certain amount of its profits each year to positive causes around the community, Gray said. They give money to the Boys and Girls Club, and they also donate to help fund the Honor Flight program that benefits local veterans, he said.
At the end of the county fair, the pizza booth will give away a $1,000 scholarship to a lucky 4-H member, Gray added.
Carroll Bush, Mary Lay and Ramon Ardizzone with the River Creek Band have frequented York Rite Pizza for more than 30 years, they said.
“It’s very, very good,” Lay said.
“It’s absolutely delicious. And if you come here, we don’t have to cook,” she added with a laugh.
Forty-six-year-old Hancock County resident Richie Kiser said he’s gone to get a slice of York Rite pizza every summer since his childhood. He remembers heading over to the stand for a slice of pizza after showing animals at the 4-H fair when he was a kid.
The best part about York Rite Pizza is its quality crust, which they stack high with plenty of cheese, he said.
“I can highly recommend it, I’ll tell you that much,” Kiser said.
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Friday, June 29
9 a.m.: 4-H Llama and Alpaca Showmanship, West Arena
10 a.m.: Exhibit Hall open
10 a.m.-close: Tractor Supply Company: Follow Us to the Fair Tour 2018, north of Show Arena
11 a.m.: Rabbits and poultry released
3 p.m.: Exhibit Hall closed
4-6 p.m.: Release of 4-H projects, Exhibit Hall
5 p.m.: Carnival opens
5 p.m.: Commercial Vendors open
6 p.m.: 4-H Livestock Auction
7 p.m.: Karaoke with Buke Blevins, Pioneer Building
7:30 p.m.: Demolition Derby, Multipurpose Arena
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