Oley's Pizza (multiple locations)

The thing to order at Oley's is the deep dish, and specifically the double crust: a Chicago-style pie with a layer of crust laid over the fillings and the sauce on top, so what comes out of the pan is closer to a sealed pizza pie than the open-faced version most places pour cheese across. That build is the whole reason to know this name in Fort Wayne.

Oley's runs two locations in town. The original sits west of the city at 10910 US-24 West (46814), and Oley's Pizza Shoppe holds down the north side at 1427 N Coliseum Blvd (46805). Both trade on the same specialty, so which one you pick comes down to which side of Fort Wayne you're starting from.

Where the double crust comes from

The business goes back to Steve "Oley" and Carol Olinger, who opened the first Oley's pizzeria not in Fort Wayne but in Ossian, the small town south of the city, in August 1980. The deep-dish style traveled north with the name. Local news coverage has since described Oley's as Fort Wayne's original deep-dish pizza, which tells you how long that double-crust pan pie has been part of the local map.

Chicago-style deep dish is a commitment, not a fast slice. The crust is built up the sides of the pan to hold a deep load of cheese and toppings, and Oley's tops that with a second layer of crust. If you have only eaten the thin, foldable kind, this is a different food that happens to share a name. It rewards a table that is willing to wait for it and split it.

The two Fort Wayne locations

The US-24 West location is the one with the full bar, including beer on draft, which makes it the pick when the plan is a real sit-down meal rather than a grab-and-go. A deep-dish pie and a cold draft is a legitimate reason to drive out west of town.

The Oley's Pizza Shoppe on Coliseum Boulevard covers the north side, near the stretch of Coliseum that a lot of Fort Wayne traffic already runs through. Same double-crust deep dish, closer to the north-end neighborhoods and the campus area. Between the two, most of the city has an Oley's within a reasonable drive.

Who it's for

Oley's is a good call for a family table or a group that wants to share something more substantial than a quick pizza run, and the US-24 spot with its bar works for a longer sit-down evening. It is not the move when you want a thin slice in five minutes; the deep dish takes time, and that is the point of ordering it. If you are comparing options, it sits alongside the rest of the city's Fort Wayne pizza places, but the double-crust deep dish is the specific thing Oley's is known for, and it is the reason to go.

Come hungry, plan to share, and order the deep dish. On the west side you can pair it with a draft. That is the short version of why this two-location Fort Wayne pizzeria has kept the "original deep-dish" reputation for as long as it has.