The Pizza Box coming home for Oak Hill Day

OAK HILL―Since opening The Pizza Box in the heart of Manhattan last year, husband-and-wife team Melanie and Michael Wesslock have been busy. They have even been featured on The Today Show and CNN.

But this Saturday, they are coming home to Durham where their legendary farm-to-pie pizzeria was born in a little red horse trailer.

The Pizza Box will be holding a pop-up fundraiser during the twentieth annual Oak Hill Day with 100% of the profits going to the Durham-Oak Hill United Methodist Church.

“This is where we first started our business and we’ve done the Oak Hill Day fundraiser every year,” explained Melanie.

The story began in 2021 on the Wesslocks’ farm in Cornwallville during the pandemic. When the historic church needed a new roof, the couple turned to their wood-fired oven—built by Michael more than a decade earlier—and began making pizzas in exchange for donations.

The “bake sales” became community events, consistently selling out and successfully raising funds for the repair.

Inspired by the overwhelming response, the Wesslocks took their pies on the road. Melanie converted an old hay-filled horse trailer—cutting, welding, and painting it herself—into a mobile pizzeria. The original Pizza Box trailer quickly became a staple at community events, weddings, and fundraisers across Upstate New York.

Last year, they brought that same spirit to Greenwich Village. In a twist of fate, their new brick and mortar location was once home to a beloved pizzeria also called The Pizza Box, which closed more than a decade ago.

“The restaurant in Manhattan is off the charts, so we’re really proud and happy to be able to share it,” said Melanie.

On the menu for Oak Hill Day will be pizza with homegrown yellow summer squash, pesto and fresh ricotta.

“We'll also have a Faicco's Italian sausage pizza from the famous Faicco's Italian Specialties on Bleecker Street,” added Melanie.

Oak Hill Day features lawn sales, ice cream, food, music and historical talks on the Oak Hill Ridge Runners and about growing up in the hamlet. The Pizza Box will be located at 7886 State Route 81.