Pizza Plus in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia

Basic Information:

Pizza: Pizza Plus

Number of Locations: 52, mostly in Tennessee and Virginia
Location Reviewed: 606 E. 5th Street in Big Stone Gap, VA
Website: https://pizzaplusinc.com/
Date of Review Visit: April 2026
What I Ordered: small pizza with sausage and pepperoni, Dr. Pepper to drink
Price: $15.85 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Pizza Plus offers 2 crusts: thick and thin.  It will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I chose thick.  The thick crust is somewhat thick, but it is not a true deep dish.  It has a nice and crispy texture on the outside.  My crust was somewhat soggy underneath, which is never a good thing.  Score: 6/10

Sauce: The sauce has a discernable but not particularly strong tomato flavor.  It appears in adequate quantity.  Score: 8/10

Cheese: This pizza has sufficient cheese with decent flavor when you sprinkle on some parmesan.  But this cheese produces more than sufficient grease, which leads to an automatic deduction.  Score: 7/10

Toppings: The sausage looks like the horrible pellet variety, but in fact it has a little spiciness without being overspiced.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  Both toppings appear in plenty of quantity.  Score: 8/10

Overall Taste: This pizza would have a very bland overall taste were it not for the sausage.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza has a very average appearance; it is dominated by the toppings.

Dining Atmosphere: Pizza Plus has a casual dining atmosphere similar to an old-fashioned Pizza Hut.  The Big Stone Gap location has some Roku televisions for entertainment.

Customer Service: on the casual side.  They have no knives to cut your pizza with, only forks.  I couldn't cut my thick crust with a fork, so I had to pick it up with my hands and eat it the "American way."

Monetary Value: This pizza has decent quality, but the price is pretty low, so the value is fairly high.

The Final Judgment:

I first encountered Pizza Plus when I visited my cousins in Tennessee many years ago.  I thought pretty highly of it then, and I still do today.  While it may not be unique enough to be your favorite pizza, it is worth coming here regularly.  Score: 81/100

Geno's Pizza, Wings, and Fingers in Scottsboro, AL

Basic Information:

Pizza: Geno's Pizza, Wings, and Fingers

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 23780 John T. Reid Parkway in Scottsboro, AL (north side of US 72 just west of SR 35)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Genos-Pizzas-Wings-Fingers-100063895276304/
Date of Review Visit: March 2026
What I Ordered: 9" pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage, and ham
Price: $17.42 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Geno's Pizza is a true southern-style thin crust.  Like most crusts of this type, it has a nice crispy texture but not a lot of taste.  This type of crust is hard to bake the right amount, but mine was baked perfectly.  This is not my favorite style of crust, but this crust is pretty good for what it is.  Score: 9/10

Sauce: This pizza has a fair amount of sauce, and the sauce has a nice fresh tomatoey taste.  Score: 9/10

Cheese: This pizza is well-cheesed, and it has a pleasant taste if you sprinkle on some parmesan.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The ham and pepperoni have a nice fresh pork taste.  The Italian sausage is fairly spicy and doesn't fit the rest of the pizza.  All toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: There is too much spiciness from the Italian sausage, and the crust makes too small of a flavor contribution.  But the fact that I noticed those 2 things says that the flavors mostly blend rather well.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like a nice thin crust pizza with the toppings dominating the appearance.

Dining Atmosphere: Geno's has a sports bar atmosphere with plenty of TVs.

Customer Service: The service was quick and friendly on my visit.

Monetary Value: Above average quality plus average price equals above average value.

The Final Judgment:

I was pleasantly surprised by this small town pizza place.  Geno's makes a tasty pizza with a solid dining atmosphere at a fair price, and if you drive US 72 across northeast Alabama you should stop and eat here.  Score: 90/100