Will Fagg was waiting for a Christmas miracle.

The owner of Federal Hill pizzeria, TinyBrickOven, Fagg, was preparing to close his business on Christmas Day after failing to obtain a liquor license. But now the family-run pizza shop is set to stay open for another year after Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy announced he would donate $60,000 to the store.

Portnoy visited Tinybrickoven earlier this month to review its pizza and met Fagg, who said the pizzeria would close if it didn’t get a liquor license.

In a video posted to social media on Monday, Portnoy praised the pizza, describing it as “thin, New York-style” with a “good base.”

“This place should not go bankrupt under any circumstances, under any circumstances,” Portnoy said in the video.

As Fagg came outside to shake Portnoy’s hand, the social media personality had a question for the pizza shop owner: How much would he need to stay open for another year?

“I think we could probably get our liquor license and stay open if we had $60,000,” Fagg said in the video.

“Done,” Portnoy said, holding out his hand.

Fagg was in disbelief.

“Wow,” he said. “I’m going to cry, man, I’m going to cry.”

The slice of cheese pizza scored 7.9 out of 10 on the Portnoy scale. The review, posted on YouTube, received more than 220,000 views in less than 24 hours.

The pizzeria has asked the community to send a message to Senate President Bill Ferguson and Del. Luke Clippinger, both Democrats from Baltimore, to write and express their support for the company. Portnoy’s review has also led to an outpouring of support on social media.

Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund, called for help from Gov. Wes Moore in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“How about Tiny Brick Oven get their liquor license expedited so they can stay in business and serve customers?,” he wrote on the social media site Tuesday morning. “It would be a wonderful Christmas present and good evidence of an efficient and responsive government.”

A GoFundMe started by Fagg to support the store’s Pay It Forward program, an effort to provide free pizza to people in need, had raised nearly $60,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

Do you have a news tip? Contact Natalie Jones at [email protected], 443-679-7818 and x.com/nataliemjones.

Originally published: December 24, 2024 at 3:07 pm EST