Their first store sometimes sold just one pizza a day. Fifty years later, the Buccilli family tree has branched out around northern Michigan through five thriving locations. In 1973, husband and wife Pat and Mary Lee Buccilli opened Buccilli’s Pizza in a rented building at the south end of Clare, Michigan. The family had been…
One of America’s oldest operating pizzerias and fresh off its latest expansion, this Connecticut institution has been welcoming generations of families since 1935. In 1918, Neapolitan immigrants Alfonso DeSimone Sr. and his wife, Assunta, were earning local approval with their Savoy Bakery business, operated out of the back of their three-family home in Bridgeport, Connecticut….
An Italian immigrant, and now his son, juggle full-time jobs and pizzeria ownership, building an American-dream story through three generations and counting. Mike Fiorentino, an Italian immigrant, was not afraid of hard work upon arriving in the United States. After serving in the U.S. Army, he landed a job at IBM. But his real dream…
This 81-unit chain honors its original founders, who fostered a sense of family and community, while surging ahead with tech-based advancements to spur lofty growth goals. In 1961, Italian immigrant Mike Valerio and his wife, Helen, took a chance on opening Piece o’ Pizza in East Boston, Massachusetts. But when it was renamed Papa Gino’s…
The pizza community celebrates the inimitable founder of Di Fara Pizza—one of the original members of PMQ’s Pizza Hall of Fame. Years before Pizza Hall of Fame inductions hit every issue of PMQ Pizza Magazine, there were just a couple of handpicked members. One was the oldest still-operating pizzeria in the United States, Lombardi’s in…
Still operating a 24-hour bar in New Jersey’s gambling mecca, Tony’s Baltimore Grill has stood for nearly a century as a true Atlantic City original. When PMQ wanted to induct Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City, New Jersey, into the Pizza Hall of Fame, the owners were game—but insisted they remain anonymous. “They are not…
Still family-owned while growing to 150 locations, this Toronto-based franchise success story has maintained its focus on people and premium products for nearly 60 years. In 1963, Italian immigrant Sam Primucci had a vision of opening a pizzeria in what was then the northern reaches of Toronto and enlisted his three brothers to bring a…
Now in its second generation of ownership—with a third in the works—this Maplewood, New Jersey, staple melds old-school work ethics with modern-day updates. When Italian immigrants Anthony and Giovanna Loffredo arrived in the United States in 1968, they didn’t have much, but they did have a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit. While working…
Celebrating 50 years of service in 2021, this Massachusetts institution has joined four generations of family members under the guidance of pizza patriarch James Fauci. James Fauci’s father must have spotted a unique talent in his teenage son, who spent his high school years working in a pizzeria. After graduation, his father asked if he’d…
From modest strip-mall pizza shop to diversified, full-service restaurant with a boutique wedding venue, this business has surged ahead by light years since its 1970 launch. When merchant marine Antonio Schiano relocated his family from a small town outside Naples, Italy, to the United States, he was looking forward to a better life. His brother…
