How a Nickname Became a Legacy
Every great restaurant has an origin story. For some, it’s a recipe passed down through generations. For others, it’s a lucky break or a bold leap of faith. For Chubby’s Pizza, it started with a nickname.
Back in the early 1970s, Bill Hoff was working in the pizza business in the Cincinnati area. He was good at what he did — making fresh dough, perfecting sauce, and treating every customer like a friend. His regular customers loved him, and somewhere along the way, they started calling him “Chubby.” The name stuck.
When Bill and his wife Gayle decided to open their own pizzeria in South Lebanon, Ohio, there was never any question about what to call it. On April 15, 1985, Chubby’s Pizza opened its doors for the first time.
The Early Days: Building a Reputation One Pie at a Time
South Lebanon in 1985 was a small, tight-knit community — the kind of place where everyone knew their neighbors and a new restaurant was big news. Bill and Gayle knew that in a town like this, your reputation was everything. From the very first day, they committed to a standard that would define Chubby’s for the next four decades:
Fresh dough, made in-house, every single day.
No frozen dough shipped in from a distributor. No pre-made crusts pulled from a freezer. Every morning, the team at Chubby’s mixed, kneaded, and prepared fresh pizza dough from scratch. They used 100% real mozzarella cheese — not the cheaper cheese blends that many pizzerias relied on. And they developed an original sauce recipe that Bill tweaked and perfected until it was just right.
That sauce recipe hasn’t changed since. Not once. Not in 41 years.
Word spread quickly through South Lebanon and the surrounding areas. Families started making Chubby’s their regular Friday night spot. Little League teams celebrated wins (and consoled losses) over Chubby Deluxe pizzas. Date nights, birthday parties, after-church lunches — Chubby’s became woven into the fabric of community life.
The Second Generation Steps Up
By the year 2000, Bill and Gayle’s son Dennis had grown up in the business. He’d spent years learning every aspect of running a pizzeria — from making dough at 6 AM to closing the register at midnight. When it was time for the next chapter, Dennis stepped into the leadership role.
Under Dennis’s guidance, Chubby’s maintained everything that had made it successful while also looking for ways to grow. Dennis understood something important: the quality couldn’t change, but the reach could.
Expanding to Morrow: 2003
In 2003, Chubby’s opened its second location in Morrow, Ohio, about 10 miles from the original South Lebanon shop. The Morrow community embraced Chubby’s immediately. For years, Morrow residents had been driving to South Lebanon for their Chubby’s fix — now they had a location in their own backyard.
The Morrow location offered the same full menu, the same fresh dough, and the same family atmosphere. Dennis made sure that opening a second location didn’t mean cutting corners. Every batch of dough, every ounce of sauce, every slice of pizza met the same standard that Bill had established nearly two decades earlier.
Adding Ice Cream: 2009
In 2009, Chubby’s made a move that seemed obvious in hindsight but was actually quite bold at the time: they added a soft-serve ice cream shop to the South Lebanon location. Pizza and ice cream — what could be a more natural pairing?
The ice cream quickly became a destination in its own right. Families would come in for pizza and then walk next door for soft serve cones, sundaes, and milkshakes. Kids would beg their parents for a stop at the ice cream window after every soccer game and school event. By offering something sweet alongside their savory menu, Chubby’s created even more reasons for families to make it their go-to spot.
The ice cream menu grew to include an impressive variety: soft serve in vanilla, chocolate, and twist; Dole Whip (yes, the same frozen treat famous at Disney parks); hand-spun milkshakes in 18 flavors; gourmet sundaes; flurries with every candy and cereal mix-in imaginable; Hawaiian shaved ice; and even blue soft serve that kids go absolutely wild for.
Blanchester Opens Its Doors: 2013
Four years after adding ice cream, Chubby’s expanded again. In 2013, the third location opened in Blanchester, Ohio, branded as “Chubby’s Pizza and Dairy Point.” This location combined the full pizza restaurant with an ice cream shop from day one, giving the Blanchester community the complete Chubby’s experience.
Blanchester is about 30 miles east of South Lebanon, in Clinton County. For the Hoff family, opening in Blanchester meant bringing their brand to a whole new customer base — people who had never heard of Chubby’s Pizza before. But just like in South Lebanon and Morrow, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Fresh dough and real cheese speak a universal language.
What Hasn’t Changed
In an era when restaurant chains cut costs at every turn — using cheaper ingredients, smaller portions, pre-packaged everything — Chubby’s has stubbornly refused to compromise. Here’s what’s remained constant since 1985:
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The dough is made fresh every day. This isn’t a marketing tagline. It’s a daily practice that requires more labor, more time, and more skill than using frozen dough. But the difference in taste and texture is undeniable.
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The cheese is 100% mozzarella. Many pizzerias use a blend of mozzarella and cheaper cheeses (or even cheese substitutes) to save money. Chubby’s has never done this.
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The sauce is the original recipe. Bill Hoff’s sauce was good enough in 1985, and it’s good enough today. Why mess with perfection?
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It’s family owned and operated. The Hoff family runs Chubby’s. Not a corporate office in another state. Not a franchise group. The people who own it are the people who care about it.
The Menu Evolution
While the core pizza recipe hasn’t changed, the overall menu has expanded dramatically over the years. What started as a pizza shop now offers:
- Over 30 specialty pizzas including trending flavors like Hot Honey Pepperoni and Pickle Lover’s
- A full hoagie and sub menu with 25+ varieties
- Wings in seven flavors, bone-in or boneless
- Burgers including the locally famous Hi-Point style
- Wraps, salads, pasta, and calzones
- An extensive ice cream and frozen treats menu
- Kids’ meals for the little ones
This expansion wasn’t about chasing trends — it was about listening to customers and giving them what they wanted, all while maintaining the quality standards that Chubby’s is known for.
Looking Forward
Today, Chubby’s Pizza continues to be a cornerstone of community life in South Lebanon, Blanchester, and Morrow. The Hoff family — including the next generation represented by Carly Hoff — is committed to carrying the legacy forward.
In a world of endless chain restaurants and apps-only ordering, there’s something deeply valuable about a family-owned pizzeria that knows your name, makes its dough by hand every morning, and has been doing it the same way for over four decades.
That’s the Chubby’s story. And the best part? It’s still being written, one pizza at a time.
Visit Us
Come be part of the story. Stop by any of our three locations:
- South Lebanon: 120 N Main St, (513) 494-1900
- Blanchester: 604 N Broadway St, (937) 783-2468
- Morrow: 537 W Pike St, (513) 899-4100
Or order online for pickup. We can’t wait to see you.