Boulder Pizzeria Owner Wins Big at Italian Competition Ahead of Third Food Network Appearance

Audrey Kelly grew up in the bagel business — her family owns Moe's Broadway Bagel. But after learning the craft of pizza-making from world-renowned pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani, she took a different dough route into business, debuting Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage in Boulder in 2015.

The menu includes her mom's famous sesame crust pies; her brother, Peter Sherman, is a hands-on co-owner. The family-owned operation is nearly a decade old now and has gained a reputation for having some of the best slices in the metro area. It's also gained a famous fan: Guy Fieri. "Honestly, he's awesome," Kelly says. "He definitely has a big personality, but he's a really good person. He makes you feel very comfortable."

Kelly has filmed with Fieri three times. The first was in 2017, when Audrey Jane's made its television debut on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. "The second time was during COVID, for their takeout version," she recalls.
The most recent visit from Fieri was for the first episode of season six of Triple D Nation, which will air on July 5 and throughout the rest of the month. In the show, Fieri "goes to revisit places he's been and checks on them," Kelly says. "He's always trying to lift up the industry and small businesses. ... I was really impressed with him, because he just really seems to remember the people he's met before and the shows he's done."

While you'll have to tune in to see which dishes Fieri tried this time around, Kelly can dish on another big moment.

Although she used to be a regular on the pizza competition circuit, "it's been like five years since I really competed," she admits. But she recently returned from the Trofeo Caputo Cup in Naples, Italy, which was also "the last competition I did before COVID," she notes. "I have three-year-old twins, and this is the first time I've really done something for myself since I had them, and it just felt like something I needed to do."

During the whirlwind trip, Kelly flew sixteen hours (and got stuck in New Jersey for 24 hours when one of her flights was delayed) to spend June 17 and 18 at the competition before traveling fourteen hours back to Denver.

But it was all worth it. She ended up taking fourth place in the relatively new Pizza Americana category. She also nabbed her first top prize ever, coming in first in the Pizza in Teglia (pan pizza) category with her mom's sesame crust Grandma Pie recipe, beating 100 other pizza makers from around the world.
"Obviously, everyone goes into it wanting to win, but I feel like it's a personal accomplishment on a different level," Kelly says. Before having kids, "I was always the kind of person who lived at my restaurant. I was there like eighty hours a week, and I envisioned myself having a kid and going back to work, and that's really not how it worked at all. I feel like it's taken me three years just to feel like a normal person and really get back into things that I used to do."

Now she's back to dishing out pizza to hungry diners in Boulder and beyond as Audrey Jane's gets ready to celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2025. "I can't believe it's gone by so fast. It's like the same as with having kids: The days are long and the years are fast," Kelly jokes.

"I feel so thankful that we've been around this long and that we continue to thrive," she concludes. "I feel like there's so much to come, and it makes me excited about the future."

Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage is located at  2675 13th Street in Boulder and is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit thepizzagarage.com.