CJ’s Pizza & Giant Grinders, a family- owned Manchester business, is reaping the benefits of being named to the Connecticut Pizza Trail, along with several other pizza places in Manchester. But it has been turning out laudable pizzas for 41 years and prides itself on its loyal fan base.

“My family are lifelong customers,” said David W. Lundberg, of Manchester. “One thing that’s kept me going back is the consistency of the staff, ingredients, and atmosphere.”

The Connecticut Pizza Trail was launched in 2025, shortly after Gov. Ned Lamont declared Connecticut the “Pizza Capital of America.”  To back the claim the state tourism office launched the Connecticut Pizza Trail, an initiative to boost tourism as well as highlight small businesses. The trail includes more than 20 eateries from one end of the state to the other known for their pizza, whether its traditional New Haven “ah-beetz” style, classic Neapolitan or Greek.

Many of the pizzerias are chains with multiple state locations like Sally’s or Frank Pepe’s. But several are small, single location spots like CJ’s.

The current owners are brothers Nick and Matt Maratta.

“Best thing to ever happen to the state of Connecticut,” said Matt Maratta, adding that the designation of Connecticut as the “pizza capital of America” is well deserved. “I think there’s a lot of well-deserved places in Connecticut.”

Nick Maratta said that they haven’t seen an uptick in sales recently, but that initiatives like it in the media and in communities have been a great help to CJ’s in the past.

“On Channel Three News, we won Best Pizza in Connecticut three a little over three years ago,” said Nick Maratta. “They did like a basketball-style bracket. And ever since that hit, we just blew up.”

Lundberg said he was one of several people who nominated CJs for placement on the trail.

“I love the food!” he said, adding the restaurant excels at more than pizza. “The grinders are delicious and quite large.”

Two other Manchester spots on the trail are the Frank Pepe’s location at 221 Buckland Hills Drive, and Mulberry Street Pizza at 981 Main St.

For more information on the CT Pizza Trail, see the official map at https://ctvisit.com/articles/connecticut-pizza-trail.

For more information on CJ’s visit https://www.cjspizzaandgiantgrinders.com/.

To see video stories on other locations on the CT Pizza Trail throughout the state visit CT Community News at https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/.