HHJ Eats: Ghost Runner Pizza Review

PERRY — In Historic Downtown Perry on Main Street sits the newly and highly anticipated pizza restaurant Ghost Runner Pizza. 

People driving by will see the brightly green brick-and-mortar building that says “PIZZA” in big letters.  

My experience was overall a good one. I went on the second day of their opening weekend. I had to get there early due to the fact they were sold out in the first hour on the first day they were open. I knew of this because of one of my good friends Caleb. He had the inside scoop on the pizza joint since he is cousins with Sydney Walker, wife of co-owner Wade Walker. Caleb also had the pizza before and highly recommended it. Small world, I know, but that happens a lot when you live in a small town. 

My mother wanted me to get dinner for her, my dad and myself. My mom then chose Ghost Runner Pizza since they just opened. 

My sister also had the pizza on opening day and really liked it, which kind of sparked my mother’s interest. 

I was already doing a story on the restaurant, so why not kill two birds with one stone and go over there right after work since they opened at five? When I got there, I already saw the line outside the door, but I was only about six or seven in line. Parking was not too much of an issue, but spaces were limited, and I was lucky enough not to have to parallel park anywhere. I am terrified of that and will try to avoid it at all costs. 

My friend Caleb and his mother showed up soon after and kind of gave me the lay of the land, so to speak. I sort of knew the people running it, as Wade and his wife Sydney went to my high school, The Westfield School, so there was some familiarity there.

As soon as the doors opened, I knew I was in for a very unique experience. I have been hearing a lot about Ghost Runner from their posts on social media and just the fact that the city of Perry does not really have a local pizza joint, so I was really excited and my expectations were high. 

My goal was to order just pepperoni and sausage and get an extra side of their homemade ranch. The two pizzas and the two extra sides of ranch plus tip cost about $44. It was kind of expensive for my liking, but for three people in this day and age, it’s not too bad by any means. 

The restaurant itself had limited seating but also had a very cool outdoor patio area where you could sit and enjoy your pizza. The whole vibe seemed very cool and unique. They had some cool art on the walls and even in the bathrooms. The table numbers were baseball cards, which I appreciated since I am a huge baseball fan. 

Now for the pizza itself. I only tried the pepperoni and sausage. I thought both were really good. My parents were also in agreement. The sourdough crust is the standout here, in my opinion, along with the fresh ingredients that Ghost Runner provides. Walker said that they are the only ones to use a sourdough crust and I believe him. I have eaten A LOT of pizza in my lifetime, and I have never heard of or had a sourdough pizza crust before. The sausage was arguably better. They used the spicy sausage from Durdens, which I’ve never had before. I am a fan of spicy foods, to a degree, so this pizza had a slight kick to it and it definitely was not too spicy. It had just the right amount. The ranch was also one of a kind, but Walker said it was just a simple recipe. I don’t know what it was, but it was maybe one of the best ranch dressings I have ever had even though I don’t use ranch on pizza at all, crazy I know. I also believe that eating at local businesses like this one, the food hits differently. 

Caleb’s mother got their rotating specialty pizza of the week, the BLT. I was fortunate enough to have a slice, and I kind of regret not ordering it. That particular pizza had bacon, arugula and tomato. The sauce was their almighty ranch. Hopefully, they will bring that back soon. 

For now, there are not a lot of flaws in Ghost Runner Pizza’s game. Since they are just starting out, there are limitations, so I can cut them some slack. The menu is quite small and the pizzas are all the same size at varying price points depending on which pizza you get. They are also only open Thursday-Saturday from 5-9 which are not ideal hours, but like I said, they still have more time to grow. More variety will be nice, in time, but I will be coming back again if I ever have that craving for pizza, which is frequent. I would definitely recommend this pizza restaurant to anyone in the area.