Plaza Pizza

A business-savvy family steps in to continue the legacy of an Ohio institution—and ambitious expansion plans via franchising are underway. Brian Claggett was once just another fan of Plaza Pizza in Newark, Ohio, which founders Mike and Donna Brown began in 1971—he and his seven siblings ate there growing up, on weekends and after ball…

Cook’s Pizza

Two brothers barely out of high school tried their hand at the pizza business. In 2021, that teenage dream celebrated 50 years of success in small-town Indiana. Brothers Stan and Steve Cook were lucky to have an aunt and uncle in the food biz—they owned an ice cream manufacturing plant and a soda fountain sit-down…

Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream

This Quad Cities original celebrates 50 years in 2022 by honoring its heartwarming roots while shuttling the brand into the 21st century. In 1972, Lawrence “Happy Joe” Whitty, a trained baker from North Dakota who worked at Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, opened the first location of Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream in Davenport, Iowa, to…

Green Lantern Pizza

The third-generation owners of this Michigan cult favorite are banking on slow but steady growth, with two new locations set to launch this summer. Thomas Vettraino and his wife, Irene, opened Green Lantern Tavern in Madison Heights, Michigan, in 1946. But the little hole-in-the-wall tavern really hit its stride in 1955, when it turned into…

The Pizza House

Serving up award-winning pizzas and heartwarming welcomes, customers from far and wide flock to this home away from home in Columbus, Ohio. Two cousins, Richie Dorn and Bobby Tiberi, didn’t have a bunch of restaurant experience when they opened up The Pizza House in 1961—but they did have a family pizza recipe they knew would…

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

Started by a natural promoter with big dreams, this still-burgeoning brand found its sweet spot by bringing deep-dish pizza to the northern suburbs of Chicago. When Lou Malnati decided to open the doors on his eponymous pizzeria in Lincolnwood, Illinois, in 1971, he had experience that most aspiring owners could only dream of. After 22…

Joe’s Pizza King

For four generations, the Lombardo family has woven a web of pizzerias in western Michigan, creating an impressive pizza dynasty that now spans 12 locations. When Sicilian immigrant Giuseppe Lombardo arrived in the United States in 1957, he worked various odd jobs to make ends meet—and one of those happened to involve making pizza. After…

Regina’s Pizza

This Ohio pizzeria, started by old-school Italians and hustled into the 21st century by a second generation, celebrates 50 years in 2020. In the mid-1960s, two best friends, Steve Catalano and Louie Bamonte, were running a modest tavern in Orrville, Ohio. But when the state bought the property, Louie decided to take a stab at…

Candlelite Chicago

Since 1950, this pizzeria and tavern has become a familiar landmark in the Windy City—and it’s now selling more pizza than ever during the pandemic. Italian immigrants Frank and Lena Maiale, the original owners of Candlelite Chicago, opened the doors of their tavern-style pizzeria in 1950, serving up thin-crust pies and libations to neighborhood locals….

Riverview Inn

A vintage recipe unearthed from an old toolbox meets a brand-new larger-than-life mascot in this quaint Wisconsin pizzeria and tavern. Arthur Wille’s wife, Darlene, wasn’t initially sold on the abandoned building the couple spotted in Saukville, Wisconsin, in the early ’60s. Once a tavern somewhat disguised as a residential home, it had been sitting vacant…