Pepperoni Roll
It is often referred to as the “Unofficial State Food of West Virginia,”
“The pepperoni roll, really, is a poem: self-contained, complete, economical in every sense of the word.“ Courtney Balestier of “The Poetry of Pepperoni Rolls”
Despite being the sixth-generation West Virginian on both maternal and parental sides, I had never heard of this sandwich until I visited Clarksburg/Bridgeport a few years ago. Both families of mine had lived on the rich agricultural land on the Ohio River banks since 1785 and had no Italian heritages.
While staying in an Airbnb room in Oakland, Maryland (5.5 miles from the West Virginia boundary line) in the winter of 2021-22, I had fun employment as a kitchen aide at the Wisp (Ski) Resort. There, they sold homemade pepperoni rolls for hungry skiers.
Being an out-of-state student in her first semester at West Virginia University, Cassie McPhail exclaimed in 2016, “Pepperoni rolls. They love pepperoni rolls. Even I can say they have become my new favorite food. ... These days, everyone eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have even grabbed multiple in one day before. The fact that they all eat pepperoni rolls is true.”
Background:
In the late 1920s, it spread popular in North Central West Virginia (roughly from Buckhannon up to Morgantown) when Italian immigrants came from Calabria, Italy, to work in the coal mines. Their wives made the similar.
However, Italian immigrant and former coal miner Giuseppe "Joseph" Argiro created the perfect pepperoni roll at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1927. After watching the other miners eating a piece of pepperoni with a piece of bread, he got an idea - baking rolls with pepperoni slices inside. It became popular with coal miners as a portable snack that didn’t need to be refrigerated.
Country Club Bakery is still in operation today; click its website.
Fairmont is only 20 miles south of my apartment. It is the birthplace of Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Rotten, Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Sabin, and "Father of Rock 'n' Roll’ Johnnie Johnson. (U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was born in Farmington, seven miles west of Fairmont.)
In Morgantown, home of the West Virginia University Mountaineers, sports announcers claim the Pepperoni Roll as the football and basketball players’ adopted “favorite” food.
On November 23, 2023, Manchin launched the “Pepperoni Diplomacy” tour around his native state to hand out pepperoni rolls to his constituents while discussing with them. He said, “I believe in the power of pepperoni rolls to bring people together. It’s time to bridge the partisan gap with a delicious common ground.”
“Whether it’s a pepperoni roll from a local bakery or a delicious Italian meal at a family-owned restaurant, there is a lot to love about West Virginia cuisine. I never miss the chance to bring a little piece of home with me to Washington…“ U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said in 2016.
Click on “Pepperoni Roll Variations” and then click on each.
In the 2021 legislative session, a bill to declare the pepperoni roll as the official state food of West Virginia passed in the House but died in the Senate Rules Committee. Will Rep. Kayla Young, a leading sponsor, reintroduce the bill for the 2024 session?
Driving through West Virginia, you can buy a quick sandwich - a pepperoni roll - at any convenience store.
Why not take a trip - “Mouthwatering Pepperoni Roll Trail”? Click more details
Southeast Michigan:
Also, pepperoni rolls are famous in Southeast Michigan (around Dearborn), where auto workers in the factories eat.
Interesting Links:
What Pepperoni Rolls Reveal About Ohio’s Most Overlooked Region (Nov 28, 2023)
How the Humble Pepperoni Roll Became an Appalachian Staple. (Dec 5, 2022)
Do you know the whole story behind WV’s state food? (Mar 1, 2022)
Rest of the West (Virginia): Pepperoni Rolls (Sep 6, 2021)
What are pepperoni rolls? They could soon become West Virginia's official state food (Apr 8, 2021)
Fairmont's pepperoni roll legacy now enshrined (Jun 28, 2020)
Fast Food Even Before Fast Food (NYT subscribed) (Sep 29, 2009)