Photo credit: Permian Press staff

Jersey Girl Pizza is a New Jersey style pizza shop that sits right across from the UTPB campus in Odessa. Priding itself on an authentic love for pizza and people, the restaurant is unique, spunky, and always delicious. We discovered Jersey Girl over 15 years ago, and it quickly became, and remains, a family favorite stop anytime we’re in or near Odessa.

Pizza and more

The restaurant serves hand-tossed pizza with house-made dough and sauce that is “hot, delicious, and with a smile.” The menu runs from traditional pies to strombolis, calzones, baked pastas, wings, salads, and sandwiches with portions built for sharing. The owners describe Jersey Girl Pizza as “Fresh ingredients, bold flavors, a little (maybe too much sometimes) creativity, and pizza we’re proud to put our name on.”

Midland’s top stories. One quick email. Free, every Friday.
Get Midland Wrapped, our free weekly email for busy Midland residents. Each Friday, we break down the week’s most important local stories — what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next — so you can stay informed without the noise.

Specialty pies are a staple and change often, but don’t let that deter you. On our last visit to Jersey Girl we asked if we could get an old menu item, a caprese flatbread. Without skipping a beat the staff perfectly recreated it to our liking. This was a great example of their genuine desire to please the customer, I know many other places that would’ve just said ‘sorry, we don’t make that anymore’ and left it at that.

The prices are very affordable, especially for a ‘fancy’ style pizza. Their 18 inch costs around $16, compared to a Domino’s 14 inch that runs you $17.99. For the quantity and quality, Jersey Girl is definitely worth the cost. My recommendations, and some of our family favorites, are the garlic knots, any topping pizza but we especially love green olive, and the specialties that sounds good at the time. They sell all pizzas by the slice as well as whole pies which is perfect for flavor experimentation.

A bit of background

Currently still owned by two brothers from Boise, Teak and Charlie bought the business from Emily, the original owner and the original ‘Jersey Girl’ who opened the shop in 2005, from whom they learned the trade and Jersey style. The brothers built their pizza empire on two standards: genuine love for pizza and people.

“If we could combine our love for food with our love for people, we’d be exactly where we were meant to be,” said the owners.

Fancy? Not really. Fun? Absolutely.

Fifteen years later the style hasn’t changed, it still feels like the same restaurant which continues to add to it’s unique character. The restaurant has a nostalgic and eccentric theme that feels authentic to a ‘lived-in’ New Jersey pizza shop. The room is covered in drawings on paper plates, stickers on the walls, and writing on the tables. The restaurant is BOYB and often keeps interesting bottles that guests bring, we have at least two of ours still on display. Take a marker, pen, or sticker, go visit Jersey Girl, and see for yourself what awesome pizza Odessa has to offer.