Pizza Eating Contest Bringing Ranked Major League Eaters To Manayunk

MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA — A competitive pizza eating contest is heading to Main Street Manayunk this weekend and it hopes to recreate the magic of the now defunct Wing Bowl.

The 2024 Benny's Invitational Pizza Eating Championship – “Mayhem in Manayunk” – will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Fat Lady Brewery and feature some of Major League Eating's top ranked competitors.

The event, which is the spiritual successor to Philadelphia’s famed Wing Bowl, will feature the world’s top eating talent, including the number-three-ranked Geoffrey Esper of Oxford, Massachusetts, number-four-ranked James Webb of Sydney, Australia, and the number-six-ranked Nick Wehry of Tampa, Florida.

Former Wing Bowl hero Dave “U.S. Male” Goldstein, who won the local category of Wing Bowl XXI in 2013 with 266 wings, has announced that he is coming out of retirement to defend Philadelphia’s honor against the interlopers from around the nation and world who are seeking to take an important Philadelphia title.

Other top-ranked eaters will include George Chiger (Slatington, Pennsylvania), Larell Marie Mele (Long Pond, Pennsylvania), Rene Rovtar (Basking Ridge, New Jersey), William Myers (Allentown, Pennsylvania) and Cherish Brown (Edon, Ohio).

The whole day will serve as a larger pizza appreciation event, with live music and entertainment running from noon to 4 p.m.

Major League Eating competitors will face off with Benny's larger-than-life 28-inch ‘Manayunk Mega Pies,’ eating as many slices as possible in an epic battle for the title of Pizza-Eating Champion of the World, and for $2,800 in prizes.

"We are thrilled to showcase the vibrant Philadelphia foodie scene in Manayunk," Caitlin Marsilii, Events Coordinator at Manayunk Development Corporation. "This event promises not only to be a lot of fun, but it also highlights two local favorites, Benny’s Pizza and Fat Lady Brewing. We’re excited to host Major League Eating’s top-ranked athletes right here in the heart of Manayunk."

The current world record for Benny’s Pizza slices, held by reigning Champion Esper, is 11.5 slices in 10 minutes. The gargantuan size of these slices is revealed when you consider that Esper has eaten 83 slices of regular pizza in 10 minutes.

Benny’s Pizza has established itself as a destination for pizza lovers who appreciate a pizza slice that is larger than a bicycle tire.

"Our pizza is specifically crafted to satisfy those with enormous appetites, who demand both superior flavor and gustatory fulfillment," Nick Bosch, Owner of Benny Peretti’s, said. "Benny’s Pizza embraces its role as a destination for true pizza lovers."

"Benny’s pizza epitomizes the ultimate form of the pizza pie – combining quality, flavor and enormous quantity," Major League Eating Host Sam Barclay said. "Slices of these 28-inch pies are the ultimate form of nourishment, ideal for professional eaters seeking to make their mark in the world."

Fat Lady Brewery is located at 4323 Main St. in Manayunk.