Fiesta Pizza and Chicken

I lived in the Tallmadge area for 30 years and Fiesta Newton had always been the only pizza joint for me. The guy that ran the place back then (Terry) was the nicest man you could know. And man, did he work hard for his money!
The pizza was always consistent. I think Terry lived by the rule, «if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it».
And that is why the pizza was consistent for at least 30 years that I know of. And that is, I’m sure, what helped to grow the enormous Fiesta customer base over all those years that Terry was there.
So now my disappointment. It had been awhile since I had the opportunity to have Fiesta, so I was excited on a recent day that I would be in town and would be ordering a Fiesta pie.
First… What’s the deal with the menu?. Holy…
Why so many things? Is it because you noticed everyone else is selling wings and jalapeño poppers so you felt the need to, also?
Stop it.
Fiesta has always been a leader and doesn’t need to follow the others by complicating the menu.
Ever considered that maybe the reason all of the other places have so many additional offerings on their menus is because their main attraction is inadequate?
Stick with what you do best. Great pizza and chicken. That’s what people really want.
So, now for the pie. Different pepperoni? I always loved how your pepperoni use to form into little cups when they baked and that little bit of grease would pool in them. Not anymore. Just plain Jane flat pepperoni like everybody else. And it (or the sausage) was incredibly spicy, way beyond what I like.
The pizza was still very good, mind you. Just not the same as it was for decades.
Why change things now?

I ordered a large pepperoni and sausage pizzas. This was my first pizza from Fiesta. I’ve eaten pizza from 5 other establishments in the area. The only part of this pizza I enjoyed was the cheese – it was really good. The red sauce didn’t taste good to me and the crust was not something to write home about although it was better than places like Pizza Hut.

At first, I gave them 4 stars because I hadnt been there in a few years. But the friday before halloween, we orderd chicken jojos and pizza & it was horrible. Thefood tasted like it was burned or maybe the oil wasnt changed. I was crushed!!! I called the next day to let them know about my order, & the guy on the phone was real rude, like he didnt care. Ill never go there again. And the sausage they use would be cool if they didnt put so much on it. Its all over the place!

Let me just begin this review with a brief anecdote. On one recent moist summer day, I stumbled into Fiesta looking for some dark meat. The place seemed to me like nothing special, but ironically (as I write), there was a special needs person in line ahead of me. She was wearing a Richard Marx tee and held a very cute beanie baby in her left hand (I believe it was Hissy the snake). This may seem immaterial, but I was impressed by the way the Fiesta attendant playfully petted the snake and made witty banter with the woman. He kindly shepherded her through the menu options and even hummed along to Marx’s «Right Here Waiting.» The care shown to customer service in this little dance made me feel that I was in the right place, right there waiting for my dark meat. When I finally ordered, I was complimented on my baby blue hoodie and my patience. WOW! This really sold me now. Nobody has ever mentioned the fit of my zip-​up before. Well, the long and the short of the story and my dark meat is that is was all perfectly cooked and fell tenderly off my bone. I highly recommend you coming into this meaty oasis in Akron. You might even meet a new friend! I still keep in touch with that lovely Richard Marx fan. I would give it five stars, but the wall decorations were ghastly.

It’s too bad when you have to bring your pizza home and put it back on the oven to finish coming. Gooey raw dough, bland sauce and flavorless toppings. I just couldn’t go there a second time and give the more of my money to see if it got better, but I don’t think I’d need to.

You know pizza is good when you can identify the shop by its telephone number alone. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and the pizza hasn’t changed. I could eat it for every meal everyday. The chicken is DELICIOUS. If you’ve never had this pizza and chicken I’m not sure what your life is about. I love (330)733−2201!!!

Cortney R. nailed it– Barbertonians *and* Cantonites can kiss our ass– Fiesta owns NE Ohio chicken. A breast, a leg, a couple of jo-​jos, and a heaping helping of hot rice is heaven on plate.
The only reason I rate it four stars is because they didn’t have the 50^th anniversary shirts the last time I was in and I want one.
Oh, who am I kidding– they’re getting five stars. I’ll just sulk in my standard shirt.

Great for carry out pizza and chicken but there was a 30 minute wait… Its good tasting pizza and I’d rather wait then order pizza hut.

This place is legendary. I don’t eat chicken but Fiesta Newton has the best pizza, jo jos and Cole slaw I’ve ever had. If I were on death row this would be my last meal.

I don’t care what those crazy Barbertonians say, THIS is the best fried chicken around! I’ve been eating their chicken & jojos since I was a kid. The seasoning on the chicken is awesome and the insides are juicy. The pizza is always good too. I enjoy that the cheese is nice and strong and flavorful. The pepperoni is thick cut and curls up on the edges and holds the grease; it’s just plain gluttonous. The jojos are awesome too. Always friendly staff. There are no tables here, it’s take out only. After you get your chicken, take it next door to Tip ‘Em Up Tavern and get a beer to go with it. It’s a pretty cool place to hang out.

It really doesn’t get much better than Fiesta! I’ve been eating here since I was a kid and the food had never been anything but great! The pizza is absolutely delicious as well as the chicken and they are not stingy with their toppings! My only regret is that I don’t live closer to this place so I can eat here more often.

Fiesta Pizza and Chicken, Newton Street Location — my favorite pizza, ever, in my life. I love pizza, and have eaten it all across the country & even in Europe & Australia. I live in San Francisco now, and we have all manners of great food and the occasional good pizza — but this Fiesta location in Akron, Ohio is my favorite.
A few things you should know about this Fiesta Pizza. They are part of a dwindling chain, but there are subtleties at this location, that seem a little different. There is no delivery, and you can’t eat there — it’s take out only. They have pizza. They have chicken. They have Jo-Jo’s. They have cole slaw. That’s it.
The pizza:
A Fiesta Pizza for me has pepperoni and maybe sausage. The pepperoni is exceptional. Small disks of the spiced meat are placed about the pie, and it curls up as the edges crisp in the oven. Pools of grease reside in the savory little cups (if that’s too much for you, I recommend you dab it with a paper towel). They probably don’t realize this, but they are one of only a handfull of places I’ve found that do pepperoni like this, and it’s phenomenal.
The sausage is also a unique experience. It’s fine and crumbly. When you get a pizza with sausage, it’s like a layer of sausage. It’s quite good, and unlike anywhere else.
I don’t screw around with other toppings other than the occasional hot (banana or yellow pepper, in the midwest), which goes pretty well with the sausage. A friend who likes mushrooms, used to go to Fiesta after he got off work delivering pizza, because the mushrooms were fresh instead of canned.
The cheese on a Fiesta Pizza is thick and delicious. In gluttonous modes, extra cheese is an over the top experience. Extra cheese is especially good on cold Fiesta Pizza.
The sauce Fiesta uses is slighly sweet, slightly tangy, and very smooth. I like that. If I want chunks of tomato on my pizza, I’ll order some chunks of tomato. I want tomato sauce, and Fiesta’s does just fine.
OF course, Fiesta also offers delicious fried chicken. The breading is crispy, spicy, and less batter-​y than a place like KFC or Church’s. IT comes out very juicy. The Akron area does a pretty good fried chicken, and Fiesta is no exception.
Indigenous to the midwest, I believe, is the concept of the Jo-​Jo potato. Jo-Jo’s are breaded, but not battered, fried chunks of skin on potatoes. They are delicious, especially the small ones, and Fiesta’s are particularly good. Like the chicken, they are fried until dark. Be careful, the big ones are center of the earth hot in the middle when they come out.
I also like the cole slaw at Fiesta. It has a strange color and sharp flavor, but it’s easy to go through a pint among friends.
I haven’t live in the Akron area for almost a decade, but when I go back to visit, I hit Fiesta with 24 hours. It’s comforting, most of the same people are there from when I did my paper route in the neighborhood 25 years ago, and helps provide me some stability when so much else changes around town. I’ll miss it dearly if it ever leaves.