The Pepperoni Roll: How a Coal Miners' Lunch Won Over West Virginia

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In West Virginia, a soft roll with pepperoni baked inside turns up in bakeries, convenience stores and gas stations, in contests at summer festivals and, in one town, on a crane at midnight on New Year's Eve. The pepperoni roll grew out of the bread and pepperoni that Italian immigrant coal miners carried to work about a century ago. Lawmakers have tried three times to name it the official state food. This post traces where the roll came from, how it spread, how the state celebrates it and what West Virginia's cottage food rules say about baking it at home to sell.

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Sources were checked on Oct. 28, 2026. Rules change, and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has the final word on cottage food.

The short version

Italian miners and a one-handed lunch

Italian immigrants came to West Virginia in large numbers in the early 1900s, recruited to work in the state's growing industries. More than 17,000 lived in the state by 1910, making up 30% of West Virginia's foreign-born population. Most of their communities were in six northern counties, led by Marion and followed by Harrison, Tucker, Randolph, Preston and Monongalia, and the majority came from Campania, Calabria and Sicily. Significant clusters of Italians were also drawn to southern West Virginia, and McDowell County, with 2,300, had the most Italian immigrants in the state in 1910. The great majority worked in coal as pick-and-shovel miners. Source: e-WV, Italians.

A common lunch for those miners, according to Argiro's younger son, Frank, was "a slab of bread, a chunk of pepperoni, and a bucket of water." Source: Goldenseal, "The Pepperoni Roll" (Spring 2006). West Virginia's tourism office says miners worked long hours and needed a filling, simple lunch to take into the mines, and that the first pepperoni rolls were probably made by miners' wives before bakeries sold them. Source: WV Tourism, "Do you know the whole story behind WV's state food?".

The Fairmont origin story

e-WV credits Argiro, whom it names as the founder of Fairmont's Country Club Bakery, with inventing the pepperoni roll in 1927. It says Argiro, a former miner, remembered co-workers eating bread and pepperoni at work and combined the two, then passed the recipe to his son Frank "Cheech" Argiro, who later owned the bakery. Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls.

Goldenseal, the magazine of West Virginia traditional life produced by the state Department of Arts, Culture and History, gives more detail. It says Argiro came from Calabria, Italy, in 1920 to work in the Clarksburg-area coal mines, later moved to Fairmont and opened People's Bakery in 1927. At some point between 1927 and 1938, "nobody seems to know exactly when," he began placing the pepperoni inside the bread. He tested the rolls in beer halls where miners relaxed after their shifts and sold them for 45 cents a dozen to beer hall owners and grocers, who sold them for 5 cents apiece. Source: Goldenseal, "The Pepperoni Roll" (Spring 2006).

Not everyone agrees on who sold the first one. The Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau says Marion County stands by Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, while Harrison County credits Tomaro's Bakery in Clarksburg. Source: Marion County CVB, Pepperoni Roll Trail. West Virginia's tourism office says Tomaro's developed its version around the same time. WV Tourism calls Country Club Bakery Argiro's original bakery. Source: WV Tourism. A 2019 Legends and Lore marker from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation sums up the story: "West Virginia delicacy created by Italian families in Fairmont to feed local coal miners. Variants now popular statewide." Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Roll marker.

How it spread

Other bakers soon made their own versions. e-WV says Filippo Colasessano, also a former miner, opened a Fairmont lunch spot, and in 1957 his son "Spider" began selling pepperoni rolls there, experimenting with cheese, hot peppers and even hot dog sauce. Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls.

The roll faced its biggest threat in 1987. According to e-WV, the USDA wanted to reclassify pepperoni roll bakeries as meat packers, which would have forced them to meet stricter rules. Rockefeller, worried that the mostly family-run bakeries would close, took the issue to Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng, and the department backed off. Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls. A 2020 Senate resolution credits both Rockefeller and Sen. Robert C. Byrd with that intervention. Source: Senate Resolution 65 (2020).

Today the roll is still most popular in northern West Virginia, where Italian settlement was heaviest, but it can be found in most parts of the state and has a following across the country and abroad, according to e-WV. Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls. The state's tourism office says pepperoni rolls are sold in nearly every convenience store and gas station. Source: WV Tourism.

The roll has also traveled to Washington. In 2012, Roll Call reported that Sen. Joe Manchin surprised Rockefeller with a case of pepperoni rolls, and an aide to then-Rep. Shelley Moore Capito said she had once delivered pepperoni rolls from northern West Virginia to pay off a lost bet over a college bowl game. Source: Roll Call, "The Great Pepperoni Roll Debate" (Nov. 20, 2012).

Is it the official state food?

Not by law. The West Virginia Legislature's records show three House concurrent resolutions to declare the pepperoni roll the official state food, and none was adopted by both chambers:

The Legislature's resolution lists for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 regular sessions show no resolution with "pepperoni" in its title. Sources: West Virginia Legislature regular session resolution lists for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The 2023 resolution itself calls the pepperoni roll the "unofficial state food of West Virginia." Source: HCR 19 (2023) text. Even so, the state's tourism office calls it "West Virginia's state food," and the Marion County CVB calls it "the official state food." Sources: WV Tourism; Marion County CVB.

The Senate did act on its own in 2020. By voice vote on March 4, 2020, it adopted Senate Resolution 65, which designates the West Virginia State Folk Festival in Gilmer County as the official home of the West Virginia State Pepperoni Roll Championship. The resolution says Gilmer County Girl Scout Cadettes recommended the idea. Sources: SR 65 (2020) history; SR 65 (2020) text.

Festivals and celebrations

Styles and variations

The original roll was a few sticks of pepperoni in a soft roll, according to the state's tourism office. Other bakers switched to sliced or even ground pepperoni, and some added cheese, sauce or peppers. Source: WV Tourism. The Marion County CVB's pepperoni roll guide takes up the stick versus sliced debate, and stops on its trail include rolls made with ground pepperoni sticks and, in season, ramps. Source: Marion County CVB, Pepperoni Roll Trail. e-WV notes the grease from the pepperoni leaves an orange-red spot on each end and that, unlike pizza crust, the roll stays soft. Source: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls.

Baking pepperoni rolls to sell from home

West Virginia's cottage food rules generally keep meat out of home kitchens that sell to the public. WVDA's Cottage Food Guide defines cottage food to exclude meat, meat products, poultry, seafood and Grade A dairy products. Pepperoni rolls are an exception. Although WVDA's cottage food rule, 61CSR42, bars meat products, WVDA's guides list rolls made with only pepperoni and cheese as a nonpotentially hazardous food. WVDA's Farmers Market Vendor Guide lists pepperoni rolls as needing no permit and limits them to "pepperoni and cheese only." Sources: 61CSR42 5.3.3; WVDA Cottage Food Guide; WVDA Farmers Market Vendor Guide, page 5.

WVDA's Cottage Foods program told Cottage Food Directory by email on Oct. 27, 2026, that it created an exemption for pepperoni rolls because of their popularity. They need no permit or inspection when properly labeled, and they may contain only pepperoni and cheese, with no peppers or other ingredients. Source: WVDA email, Oct. 27, 2026.

WVDA's email said the rolls may contain only pepperoni and cheese, with "no peppers or other ingredients," so many of the variations above do not qualify for home bakers. For labeling, permits and the rest of the state's rules, see the West Virginia cottage food law page. For what a label should show, see What a Cottage Food Label Tells You as a Buyer, and for market sales, see Selling at Farmers Markets: What to Bring and What to Ask. To find home bakers near you, browse West Virginia cottage food makers.

Frequently asked questions

Who invented the pepperoni roll?

e-WV credits Fairmont baker Giuseppe "Joseph" Argiro, a former coal miner, with inventing it in 1927. Goldenseal magazine says he opened a bakery in Fairmont in 1927 and began baking pepperoni inside bread at some point between 1927 and 1938. Sources: e-WV, Pepperoni Rolls; Goldenseal (Spring 2006).

Is the pepperoni roll West Virginia's official state food?

No. House resolutions to declare it the official state food were introduced in 2013, 2021 and 2023. The House adopted the 2021 resolution, but the Senate did not, and the other two never left the House. Sources: HCR 84 (2013); HCR 34 (2021); HCR 19 (2023).

Why did coal miners eat pepperoni rolls?

Italian immigrant miners already carried bread and pepperoni to work. Baking the pepperoni inside the bread turned a two-handed meal into one that could be eaten with one hand, Goldenseal reported. Source: Goldenseal (Spring 2006).

Can I sell homemade pepperoni rolls in West Virginia?

Yes, if they contain only pepperoni and cheese. WVDA's guides list them as a nonpotentially hazardous food, and WVDA's Cottage Foods program told Cottage Food Directory by email on Oct. 27, 2026, that they need no permit or inspection when properly labeled. Rolls with peppers or other added ingredients do not qualify. Sources: WVDA Cottage Food Guide; WVDA Farmers Market Vendor Guide, page 5; WVDA email, Oct. 27, 2026.

Where can I celebrate pepperoni rolls in West Virginia?

The West Virginia State Folk Festival in Glenville hosts the state pepperoni roll championship in June, Fairmont's Three Rivers Festival holds pepperoni roll bake-offs in May and Mannington drops a giant pepperoni roll on New Year's Eve. Sources: WDTV (Feb. 19, 2026); WV Three Rivers Festival; WDTV (Dec. 16, 2025).

Official sources

Find home bakers and makers in West Virginia on the West Virginia page.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Last reviewed Oct. 28, 2026.