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