“Cold cheese pizza” used to be pizza that’s no longer warm, but it’s also the name of a special variation of pizza. Tino’s Pizza and Restaurant in Oneonta, New York, served hot pizza to SUNY college students there, and some of the students (especially the drunk ones) burned their mouths. Cold mozzarella cheese was put on top of the pizza when it came out of the oven, and “cold cheese pizza” was born in 1984 or 1985.
   
“Hey, talking about small upstate ``cities,’’ has anyone ever been to Oneonta? They have the world’s best Cold Cheese Pizza. Just go to Tino’s (downtown, next to the Black Oak Tavern and across from Bresee’s) and ask for a slice o’ cold cheese” was posted on the newsgroup alt.culture.ny-upstate on February 11, 1994. “Oneonta? Home of Oneonta Cold Cheese Pizza” was posted on Twitter by Greg Demetrick on August 8, 2008. “There the students were introduced to the Cold Cheese Slice at a pizzeria called Tino’s opened by Agatino Garufi in 1985. Mr. Garufi’s son, Tino Jr., said the Cold Cheese started the year they opened” was posted on The Daily Meal on October 26, 2010.
   
Other restaurants outside of Oneonta have served cold cheese pizza, and it’s often called the “Oneonta slice.”  “The $.99 Slice Special for the Month of February at NYPD Pizza in Metro West is the Oneonta Slice” was posted on Twitter by NYPDPizza on February 2, 2009. “Celebrate the return of Popes by trying an Oneonta Slice” was posted on Twitter by Saratoga Idiot on August 24, 2012. “The cold cheese pizza revolution has made it all the way to Florida! This ‘Oneonta Slice’” was posted on Twitter by SUNY Oneonta on March 7, 2015. “The Oneonta slice #pizza #coldcheeseslice #tinospizza ” was posted on Twitter by Mark Grygiel on April 15, 2022.
   
 
Tino’s Pizza and Restaurant (Oneonta, NY)
Cold Cheese
A Tino’s Original, cheese pizza topped with an additional layer of cold mozzarella cheese
 
Google Groups: alt.culture.ny-upstate
Oneonta and Cold Cheese Pizza (Was: Re: Ithaca - Cornell U.)
HENRY BENJAMIN H
Feb 11, 1994, 10:56:58 AM
(...)
Hey, talking about small upstate ``cities,’’ has anyone ever been to Oneonta? They have the world’s best Cold Cheese Pizza. Just go to Tino’s (downtown, next to the Black Oak Tavern and across from Bresee’s) and ask for a slice o’ cold cheese. And enjoy!
   
Twitter
Greg Demetrick
@kazama
Replying to @mchang16
@mchang16 Oneonta? Home of Oneonta Cold Cheese Pizza and $5 Mason Jar mixed drinks.
1:04 PM · Aug 8, 2008
   
Twitter
NYPDPizza
@NYPDPizzeria
The $.99 Slice Special for the Month of February at NYPD Pizza in Metro West is the Oneonta Slice, go try it!!http://www.nypdpizzeria.com
11:12 AM · Feb 2, 2009
 
The Daily Meal   
Little Vincent’s Cold Cheese Slice
By Arthur Bovino|Oct. 26, 2010 7:26 pm EST
(...)
It is a practice brought to Huntington by college students returning home to Long Island from school in Oneonta in upstate New York. There the students were introduced to the Cold Cheese Slice at a pizzeria called Tino’s opened by Agatino Garufi in 1985. Mr. Garufi’s son, Tino Jr., said the Cold Cheese started the year they opened.
 
“You know how you get a slice of pizza that comes out of the oven,” said Tino Jr., “this guy came up to the counter and asked for a slice. But it was too hot so he said can you put some cold mozzarella cheese on top so he could eat it right away.”
     
Twitter
Matt
@matty_315
Gotta say this cold cheese pizza invention in oneonta is awesome sooo good
7:39 AM · Apr 16, 2011 from New York, USA
     
Twitter
Saratoga Idiot
@saratogaidiots
Tis FRYDAY TRYDAY. Celebrate the return of Popes by trying an Oneonta Slice.
http://idiotsbeingidiots.blogspot.com/2012/08/fryday-tryday_24.html
10:23 AM · Aug 24, 2012
   
Twitter
Garrett Stephens
@Stephens_GJ
I sometimes wonder how unhealthy a slice of pizza can be? Then I have an Oneonta slice sober and just want to go into a fetal position
4:49 PM · Sep 16, 2013
 
Twitter
May Weather
@MayWeatherMD
You have not had pizza until you’ve had cold cheese pizza. If nothing else, we’d come to Oneonta, NY… http://instagram.com/p/ozcm8fv5z7/
9:34 PM · Jun 3, 2014
   
Twittr
PeterD
@pd8779
Replying to @LaurD123
@LaurD123 I went to Oneonta State.  The speciality there is cold cheese pizza.  They sprinkle cold cheese on top after the pizza is cooked
6:00 PM · Feb 13, 2015
   
Twitter
SUNY Oneonta
@SUNY_Oneonta
The cold cheese pizza revolution has made it all the way to Florida! This “Oneonta Slice” is the… https://instagram.com/p/z8xaNDTEY8/
9:16 PM · Mar 7, 2015
   
Twitter
Monica Rose
@MoniqueShats15
If you don’t eat cold cheese pizza do you even live in Oneonta?
12:48 AM · Aug 29, 2015
   
Lite 98.7 (Utica, NY)
Tino’s Home Of The ‘Cold Cheese’ Pizza In Oneonta
Cindy McMullen
Published: September 13, 2015
Tino’s in Oneonta is the original home of the cold cheese pizza. Tino and I talked about the ‘cold cheese’ and how it got started. This is the cult pizza that Oneonta is known for.
 
College kids would come to Tino’s famished and order slice after slice after slice. The pizza was served up very hot and the kids wouldn’t wait for it to cool. They would start eating the slices and were actually searing the roof of their mouth with the hot cheese. Someone at Tino’s had the idea of taking the really hot slice of cheese pizza and throwing a handful of cold mozzarella on it. It was love at first bite.
(A video is also shown.)
   
HuffPost
This Cold Cheese Pizza Is The Cult Favorite Your Life Has Been Missing
No, it’s not leftover pizza from the fridge.
By Julie R. Thomson
Sep 5, 2017, 07:21 AM EDT
Updated Sep 8, 2017
(...)
The Daily Meal credits Oneonta, New York ― specifically Tino’s Pizza and Restaurant ― with inventing this pizza style. Tino Jr., the owner of Tino’s, recounted the story of how cold cheese pizza started:
 
“This guy came up to the counter and asked for a slice. But it was too hot so he said, ‘Can you put some cold mozzarella cheese on top?’ so he could eat it right away,” Tino Jr. told The Daily Meal.
(...)
Little Vincent’s on Long Island also makes a famous slice. And so too does Beto’s in Pittsburgh.
 
FoodBeast
There’s A Pizza Place in Pittsburgh That Serves Cold Cheese And Toppings
Isai Rocha
Dec 12, 2017
Of all the lazy attempts at reinventing pizza, this might be the laziest.
 
Beto’s Pizza in Pittsburgh, PA is known for its cold cheese pizza, and somehow people are actually eating this Lunchables-like pie.
 
Cold pizza is notoriously good, but this is whole different story. This isn’t melted cheese that eventually got cold, it’s straight shredded provolone that’s skipping the oven process.
       
Twitter
Vince P
@VinnyBananas
@stoolpresidente The cold cheese slice is not a gimmick. It was invented by Tino’s Pizza in Oneonta, NY as a way to prevent drunk kids from burning the roof of their mouth because they’d have to serve piping hot pizzas to keep up with the rush.
7:23 PM · May 22, 2018
   
Twitter
Bobbo Dinner
@Squatting_Cub
@stoolpresidente I don’t know if you guys have gone to it yet and if so I apologize, you should try a cold cheese pizza from Sal’s Pizzeria in Oneonta, NY. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s amazing. And don’t listen to those frauds at Tino’s Pizzeria, they’re all liars.
10:07 AM · Oct 12, 2018
 
Twitter
Steven Tsakanikas
@SteveTsak
I feel bad for anyone who hasn’t gotten a cold cheese slice from Tino’s in Oneonta
Fun fact they invented cold cheese so drunk college kids wouldn’t burn the roof of the mouth🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♂️
(A video is shown.—ed.)
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pere uwu
@_mrpussy
·
Jan 22, 2022
“This place serves pizza with cold cheese!”
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11:38 PM · Jan 23, 2022
   
Twitter
Mark Grygiel
@bigmark419
The Oneonta slice #pizza #coldcheeseslice #tinospizza #fridaynightmeal #nomeatongoodfriday if you have not had a pizza slice like this you have to try it
6:33 PM · Apr 15, 2022
 
28 October 2022, State Times (SUNY College at Oneonta, NY), “One Mac Dog and One Cold Cheese: Thoughts on Oneonta’s Late Night Snacks” by John Martello, pg. ?:
A cold cheese slice is an Oneontan invention. Simply put, a cold cheese pizza is a slice of normal pizza, with a mountain of shredded mozzarella on top. Since the pizza just left the oven, the shredded mozzarella acts as an automatic cooler, allowing you to dig in as soon as you purchase it. The sheer weight of the slice itself cannot be supported by a singular paper plate, so make sure you ask for a second plate on your way out the door. Also, make sure you have a beverage of choice ready because you will need it! Tino’s Pizza and Sal’s New Classic Pizzeria both sell cold cheese slices, and the debate about what place sells a better slice is an entire discourse of its own.