Step aside, NERDS! Pi Day is for PIZZA! These hot, cheesey, and perfectly round food items are America’s lifeforce with the RADius of yum. C=2 π r
While most of us aren’t mathematical geniuses, we can still observe Pi Day… through our stomachs. To celebrate this fantastical day, we ventured into Long Beach’s very own 4th Horseman pizza shop off of 4th Street and met up with one of the owners, Ryan Hughes, to get the full scoop on this Apocalyptic pizza joint. So get your pencils sharpened and your stomachs ready to #GETHEAVY with Dez and Bella!
(From left to right: Bella, Ryan, and Dez)
THEIR STORY
The 4th Horseman was birthed from a collaboration of friends with a common interest in dark art, horror, and well, pizza duh! The name was scrawled out on a piece of paper back in 2015 long before the founders Ryan Hughes & Martin Svab (previously of Phantom Carriage Brewery), Jeremy Schott (Dark Art Emporium), and Chef Adam Schmalz scouted out a location, decked it out, and starting crunching out delicious pizza creations. How the name came to be stems from a biblical quote taken from the book of Revelations which is which is boldly painted in white letters on the back wall of the establishment:
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”
The Book of Revelation 6:2-8
But the 4th Horseman goes beyond just being a pizzeria with an apocalyptic name, they embrace every aspect of it. With dark art decking the walls ranging from taxidermy animals with human names (like Brittany the bespectacled cat) to their extensive collection of vintage horror movie posters, this place serves as a living museum of everything Hughes and her team love. Even the food itself is ghoulish. Most of the fresh herbs and vegetable ingredients used to create The 4th Horseman’s pizza is delivered on a weekly service via bike messenger from a small farm called Farmlot 59 located behind one of Long Beach’s oldest cemetaries Sunnyside. Hughes mentioned to us that she and her team have organized several soirees by providing their apocalyptic pizza, beer and wine to help raise money for the restoration of Sunnyside cemetary, which has been haunting Long Beach since 1906.
Rotating beer selections mean you’ll never have the same beer twice! 
Quirky art deck the walls. 
Sunnyside Cemetery haunting LBC since 1906. 
Try and beat the high score! 
Cards Against Humanity with pizza and friends always make for a great time. 
A one-of-kind creation by Chef Schmalz: The “Lieutenant Dan” 
Step inside the parlor…
THE PIZZA
When we first wandered into the 4th Horseman, we had no idea what we were walking to, but were intrigued so we grabbed some beers, a few board games, and tried a little bit of everything. After meeting Ryan, she helped explain the pizzas that are based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Here they are:
WHITE HORSE : PESTILENCE – House tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella
RED HORSE* : WAR – House tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, roasted pineapple, bacon *Interestingly enough, Ryan hates pineapple on pizza and has mentioned that is part of the reason they decided to have pineapple on a pizza that represents war.
BLACK HORSE : FAMINE – House tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, roasted peppers, balsamic mushrooms, kalamata olive, fresh basil
PALE HORSE : DEATH – Ricotta, shredded mozzarella, roasted peppers, kalamata olive, house-made Italian sausage, pesto, fresh basil
For PI DAY, The 4th Horseman is offering $3.14 slices all day as well as $3.14 Miller High Life pints! They will be open from 3PM to 12AM today. Grab some friends, and an appetite and come enjoy the puns, the horror, and all the yum! They even have movies playing and arcade video games for everyone to enjoy, but be warned this place is no Chuck E Cheese. Patrons must be 21+ to enter!
Explore more of the menu here.
From time to time, Chef Adam Schmalz will put out limited run one-of-a-kind creations so make sure you follow their Instagram to stay in the know!
