Greg’s ‘Pizza Slice Bridge’ has become an online sensation

CARLOW has created its own viral phenomenon in tribute to Cherry Tomato Bridge, thanks to an unlikely internet star who has the online community buzzing!

For one night only, Graiguecullen Bridge was transformed into Pizza Slice Bridge by Greg, manager of Apache Pizza in Carlow, who has become something of a viral sensation in recent weeks. The charming Greg has amassed thousands of views and followers online with his quirky challenges and posts and in turn has become something of a star of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.

Greg’s latest challenge offers a twist on the now-departed Cherry Tomato Bridge in Drumcondra, which for a few days bizarrely became the city’s must-see attraction.

Greg turned Graiguecullen Bridge into Pizza Slice Bridge, lining up pizza slices across the well-known landmark, which were all quickly devoured!

“To be honest, the recognition is incredible,” a modest Greg, told The Nationalist.

“I did a post on TikTok two weeks ago during the snow and I simply don’t know why, but it got half a million views. We’ve gained 4,000 followers in two weeks and our Instagram has doubled,” he added incredulously.

“The day we did the pizza slices was the day the Cherry Tomato Bridge was gone and I felt bad for people, because everyone really seemed to like it. I did it from the bottom of my heart. I know some people were worried about the waste, but all of the pizza was eaten,” he added.

Originally from Poland, Greg Kurtz has been living in Ireland for 18 years and working in Carlow for most of that time.

“Carlow is my second home,” he smiles.

Since his rapid rise to fame, the affable Greg has become an antidote to the January blues, with lots of people calling into Apache Carlow to meet and get selfies with the legend that is Greg – particularly young people. Greg is taking his newfound fame in his stride, while a number of Apache staff have also come on board to appear in the videos.

“Some people are shy and don’t want to, especially with all the attention recently. The young people love them and we put our heart and soul into the challenge and coming up with ideas … it’s great to see people’s reactions,” he added.