Leña Pizza + Bagels, from all appearances, looks like any other storefront along Cleveland, Mississippi’s Cotton Row.
But it does not take long to see that this is no ordinary storefront. Within 15 minutes of opening one evening in early October, a line of customers streams through the restaurant’s front door.
They’re all waiting for one thing – the 38th best pizza in the world.
And they won’t wait long.
Dough is stretched by hand, sauce is spread and toppings added before the pies are slid into an 800-degree wood-burning oven for less than two minutes.
The smell is intoxicating as the crusts crisps and cheeses melt within the oven.
The pizzas hit the tables, and ideally, in Neapolitan tradition, they are best eaten within the first five minutes, Rory Doyle, co-owner of the pizzeria, said.
And Doyle is right, it tastes even better than it smells. The “PepperRory,” hits the mouth with a crunch from the crisped pepperonis, while the cheese pulls against the thin crust.
Doyle said he and his wife, Marisol Doyle, never set out for accolades or acclaim when starting their pizzeria and bagel shop three years ago.
But even still the food has made headlines, including earlier this year when The International Guide 50 Top Pizzas dubbed Leña among the best pizzerias in the world. They’re ranked ninth in the U.S.
While Rory is a co-owner of the establishment and leads marketing, he’s quick to pass credit to Marisol as the “nucleus” of the operation.
Marisol, in order to make the pizzeria a reality, traveled to Napoli, Italy, to learn the Neapolitan style at the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana school.
She brought the craft back to Cleveland and started doing pizza pop-ups before opening the restaurant in 2023.
“I would say that it’s a labor of love because they’re eating the same thing, and it brings them comfort,” Marisol said of the pizza. “… (The customers are eating it) every week, and that makes me feel good because (that shows) they trust me.”
For Marisol and Rory, the local support is something they have cherished but their proudest accomplishment is the spotlight their success has put on Cleveland.
“It means such a great deal to Marisol and to me, but also, I think what’s probably even more special is it gives more people an opportunity to learn about Cleveland,” Rory said. “… I think it’s a win-win, a win for us, but also for Cleveland. There’s a lot of great reasons to come and visit Cleveland, and it’s really nice that more people are coming.”
The scene and sights
Cleveland is a city of nearly 11,000 residents tucked within the broader Delta area. The city is contained within a 7.5-square-mile area, making it relatively walkable.
The Cotton House, a 95-room boutique hotel, makes for comfortable accommodations during a trip to the city. Its central location in between Cotton Row’s strip of downtown storefronts offers easy access to other city attractions.
Next to Cleveland’s Visitor Center stands a building that acts as a doorway to “a better time,” James Marqis, a tour guide at Martin and Sue King Railroad Heritage Museum, said.
The museum, beyond its 71-by-17-foot model train exhibit, offers informative displays and railroad artifacts to teach visitors about the importance of railroads to the development of Mississippi during the 20th century.
“The key to the whole thing is it’s an education tool,” Marqis said of the museum.
For a morning pick-me-up, Zoe’s Coffee Co. offers a great selection of both specialty and seasonal lattes.
For lunch take a short walk up North Sharpe Avenue to Hey Joe’s Burgers + Beer; the dimly lit restaurant interior lined with retro arcade games and sports memorabilia offers an experience to please any dive bar enthusiast.
A local favorite, the “Kevin Bacon” smashburger, is melted with your choice of cheese and topped with bacon before the bun is speared with a piece of pickled okra, an ode to the neighboring Delta State University Statesmen, unofficially dubbed the Fighting Okra.
Beyond catching a Statesmen football game at Horace L. McCool Stadium, the university also boasts the Mathews-Sanders Sculpture Garden, a permanent exhibit in front of the Bologna Performing Arts Center.
More than 50 sculptures stand on the campus grounds, including in the front of the GRAMMY Museum.
The museum was opened in 2016 as the first sister location for the Los Angeles-based museum, because of the state’s rich history to musical genres like country, the blues and rock and roll.
The 28,000-square-foot museum offers programming ranging from a 45-minute retrospective of previous GRAMMY performances, interactive exhibits highlighting significant artists and rotating displays of musical genres or specific artists each year.
Roughly seven miles east into Sunflower County is Dockery Farms, a historic 20th-century plantation and sawmill compound widely believed to be “The Birthplace of the Blues.”
Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the grounds where blues legends like Howlin’ Wolf, Charley Patton and Robert Johnson once got their start.
For a city of its size, Cleveland packs a surprising number of sights, tastes and culture. It’s also a great home base for exploring the rest of the central Delta.
Much like that unassuming storefront on Cotton Row, Cleveland may not advertise all that it has to offer at first glance. Spend a little time there, though, and it doesn’t take long to understand why it’s worth the trip.
WORDS BY BRADEN SIMMONS
PHOTOS BY RORY DOYLE