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Cart-Driver
Cart-Driver started small — genuinely small — in a roughly 650-square-foot shipping container in Denver's RiNo neighborhood, founded by Andrew Birkholz in 2014 around wood-fired Neapolitan pizza made with a 200-year-old dough starter sourced from a volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples. That starter is the kind of detail that separates a restaurant chasing an authentic Neapolitan tradition from one simply borrowing the aesthetic, and it's stayed central to Cart-Driver's identity as the restaurant has grown well beyond its original shipping-container footprint. The restaurant expanded into a full Highland/LoHi space in 2019, pairing its wood-fired pies — including a signature margherita the menu calls "the Daisy" — with a broader raw bar and seasonal market-plate menu built around oysters, prosecco on tap, and craft cocktails. That's a meaningfully more polished, drink-forward setting than a typical thin-crust pizzeria, positioning Cart-Driver closer to a full night-out destination than a quick slice stop. Cart-Driver has been credited with helping bring a genuine wave of serious Neapolitan pizza to Denver, and the restaurant has backed that reputation with repeated Westword Best of Denver awards for best pizza — recognition that's held even through a temporary closure of the Highland location for plumbing repairs, after which the restaurant reopened rather than folding the concept. For a Denver pizza list, Cart-Driver is the essential "thin-crust pizza as a full night out" entry — a 200-year-old starter's worth of Neapolitan pizza tradition, paired with oysters and prosecco in a Highland dining room that grew out of a single RiNo shipping container.
VS
Marco's Coal Fired Pizza
Marco's Coal Fired Pizza opened in Denver's Ballpark neighborhood in 2008, founded by Mark and Kristy Latorraca Dym around a specific and fairly narrow goal: build true Neapolitan pizza in Denver the way it's actually made in Naples, rather than an Americanized approximation of the style. That commitment paid off with real certification — Marco's became Colorado's first Vera Pizza Napoletana-certified pizzeria, an official designation that requires meeting strict standards on ingredients, dough, and cooking method set by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Naples. The kitchen leans on imported Italian ingredients and certified pizzaiolos trained specifically in Neapolitan technique, producing a pizza the restaurant describes as having a crisp, chewy crust with a softer center — the specific textural signature the VPN standard is built around. That certification has also earned Marco's a spot on the Italian Top 50 Pizza list, notable recognition for a pizzeria operating well outside Italy. Beyond the core Neapolitan menu, Marco's has built in enough range to function as a full restaurant rather than a pizza-only counter — limoncello chicken wings, salads, and a solid list of gluten-free and vegan options sit alongside the certified pies, along with house-made desserts that round out a full dinner rather than just a quick slice. For a Denver pizza list, Marco's Coal Fired Pizza is the essential "certified, by-the-book Neapolitan" entry — Colorado's first VPN-certified pizzeria, built on imported ingredients and traditional technique in Denver's Ballpark neighborhood since 2008.
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