A stroke of bad luck transformed into a surprise blessing, spawning one of the oldest pizzerias in the United States. Though born in the United States, Nick Bevacqua moved with his family to their homeland, Italy, as an infant, eventually returning at 17 years old. With little English but a strong work ethic, he toiled…
Despite decades of neighborhood hardship—and ruthless development—owner Louie Gritsipis delights in his pizzeria remaining a familiar fixture in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen. Louie Gritsipis, owner of 42nd Street Pizza in New York, didn’t stay in the United States long after emigrating from Greece at 18 years old. He was soon back in his homeland, completing…
Despite opening for limited hours while juggling full-time jobs on the side, the LaBarba family has cemented this humble pizzeria’s legacy over three generations. In 1948, Abruzzo, Italy, transplants Ester and Donato DePalma opened a small trattoria in Newburyport, Massachusetts, serving up rectangular pan pizzas and subs inspired by their homeland. After a 1953 move…
Don’t let the name fool you—in a city that’s stamped its own style in the annals of pizza history, Modern Apizza remains one of the founding originals. When Connecticut-born, Italy-raised Antonio “Tony” Tolli returned to his birth state in 1930, he learned the baking trade from his uncle, who owned a successful pastry shop in…
Focusing on a single location since 1966, three brothers from Abbruzzo, Italy, grew a 600-square-foot carryout joint into a massive Baltimore-area pizza mecca. When John Coruzzi landed Stateside from Abruzzo, Italy, at 16, he was soon prepping for the pizza life. After honing his skills over a decade while working in a bakery, then a…
One of Philadelphia’s royal families of pizza has thrived for four generations, right down to a six-year-old hostess and problem solver—and continues to set its sights on growth. In 1959, Joseph and Philomena Santucci, a policeman and stay-at-home mom, opened Santucci’s Original Square Pizza in Philadelphia with one goal: to build a business they could…
After 70-plus years, rustic shipwreck decor, sled-pan pizzas and vintage high-school portraits still charm this pizzeria’s original patrons, who now visit with their grandkids in tow. Back in 1947, the small town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, seemed an unlikely place for a pizzeria—but the concept didn’t start as a pie-slinging powerhouse. The brainchild of several…
Part of an astonishingly productive pizza family, one father-and-son outlet celebrates 50 years of staying small, simple and hospitable. Sicilian immigrant Dominick Scavo was a true pizza pioneer in his family; at just 17 years old, he opened his first pizzeria with brother Sal in Brooklyn, New York, in 1965. Two years later, the brothers…
When his dad wrangled him to wash dishes at the family pizzeria one night, Joe Persi, Jr. didn’t know he was signing up for a lifetime in pizza. Sound familiar? When his father wrangled him to wash dishes at the family business one night, Joe Persi Jr. didn’t know he was signing up for a…
From unlikely franchisee to pizza kingpin, Arni Cohen remained true to his core principles: supporting customers and communities. Arni Cohen, a journalism and history major in college, might have seemed an improbable pizza entrepreneur, but he was no foodservice newbie, having worked since 14 at his uncle’s fine-dining restaurant. By 1965, in his early 30s,…
