Barstool Sports founder: Madison pizzeria mural ‘beautiful’

Valentina’s Pizzeria and Wine Bar in Madison has already set itself apart by having a pizza that was recently crowned the “Best Traditional Pizza in the World.”

Now, the restaurant has created a stir for another reason.

Valentina’s has a mural of Barstool Sports founder and owner Dave Portnoy that caught some attention.

Portnoy, who is a pizza connoisseur of sorts, replied Thursday to a tweet he was tagged in that displayed the mural.

In his reply, Portnoy expressed his approval for the mural, calling it, “Beautiful.”

Valentina’s owner Joe Carlucci said he was excited about the Barstool Sports owner’s attention to his restaurant. However, it was not the first time that Portnoy has reached out, he said.

Meanwhile, Carlucci also expressed admiration for Portnoy.

“He is an entrepreneur and I am intrigued by his work ethic.”

And, Carlucci said that “it’s time for (Portnoy) to take the next move to Alabama.”

In 2021, Portnoy created a Twitter war of sorts between Connecticut and New Jersey. He declared on the social media site that New Haven, Conn., has the best pizza in the country.

“Let me settle this once and for all. The pizza capital of the United States is New Haven, CT. Anybody who says otherwise is wrong.”

Connecticut then launched a campaign to make pizza the official food of the state.

This didn’t go over well with New Jersey as the state’s official Twitter account stepped into the fray.

When a journalist posted an article entitled, “Connecticut state legislators have introduced a bill to make pizza the official state food,” New Jersey replied with a simple Tweet: “No.”

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.