Nalivka's in final four in tournament

With recipes passed down for generations, local pizza eatery Nalivka’s Original Pizza Kitchen has made it into the final four of the Montana Mint’s statewide pizza competition.

According to the Montana Mint’s website, http://www.montana-mint.com, the group utilized multiple resources such as Yelp reviews and Facebook followers and compiled a list of the 64 best pizza places in Montana.

Much like the National Collegiate Athletic Association “March Madness” tournament, throughout the weeks, the Montana Mint narrowed down the list to the “Final Four.” People voted electronically for their favorite pizza establishment.

Mary Jensen, one of the owners of Nalivka’s, and daughter of business founders Paul and Vivian Nalivka, said she is appreciative to be in the final four.

“Our customers are wonderful, and I’ve really appreciated people voting for it and following along with it — it’s quite a compliment,” she said.

Jensen said that the recipes used at Nalivka’s have been in the family for years.

“We’re still using my mom’s dough recipe and my dad’s sauce recipe,” she said. “We still make them the way that our mom and dad taught us how to do it.”

The other pizza eateries in the final four are: Howard’s Pizza of Great Falls, Eugene’s Pizza of Glasgow and Me Too Pizza of Culbertson.

Votes can be submitted at http://www.montana-mint.com/2015/03/30/vote-now-montana-pizza-bracket-final-four/. The voting period ends at midnight Sunday, April 5.