Ritual Pizza Co is an artisanal pizza kitchen that opened in Connecticut in March 2022. It was founded by brothers Jay & Kyle Holmes and their business partner Ken Brooks. The latter worked as the head chef for Krust Pizza & Bourbon Bar in Middletown. The venture initially started out as a pizza pop-up that would appear at various Connecticut breweries and festivals. The partners quickly gained a following with their delicious pies. One of the breweries that Ritual frequently crafted pizzas at was Labyrinth Brewing Company in Manchester. In November 2023, Ritual opened a brick & mortar location inside of Labyrinth complete with a new Pizza Master oven. Everything was going well for the pizzeria until a gigantic ball was dropped in July 2024 when Labyrinth announced that they would be closing their doors by the end of the month. For the rest of the year, Ritual went back to operating as a pop-up venture. In February 2025, Ritual opened their new brick & mortar location inside Counter Weight Brewing Company in Cheshire. In addition to their delicious pizza pies, the menu also consists of smash burgers, hot dogs, fries, and various small plates.
My family and I tried out food from Ritual Pizza Co this past summer while we were at Labyrinth Brewing. We had stopped in for lunch after visiting a fire museum nearby. I had visited Labyrinth a few times before, but this was my first visit since Ritual set up their pizza kitchen there. I had been following them on social media for a while and I had been anxious to try their pizza. We decided to order and share the "Pepperoni" (shredded mozz, oregano, pepperoni) and the "Street Korn Pie" (shredded mozz, braised chicken, chunky bacon, ranch drizzle). We also ordered a side of "Mac N' Cheese" (mac n' cheese topped with toasted ritz crackers) for our younger son who prefers pasta to pizza. The pepperoni pie had some great sauce, crust and flavor. We mainly ordered it for our older son; pepperoni is his favorite. The one that really impressed my wife and I was the Street Korn Pie. It was an excellent fusion of Mexican and Italian cuisines; so much flavor! Just 10 days after our visit, Labyrinth announced that they would be closing their doors. Ritual soon released a statement announcing that they had every intention of reopening at a new location. I was so happy to hear that they have now reopened at Counter Weight and I look forward to eating their delicious pizza again! read more