Four boyhood pals step up to keep their favorite hometown pizzeria thriving—and are growing it far beyond their predecessors’ dreams. Though details are fuzzy from Colony Grill’s earliest years, the tavern was established by Irish Americans in 1935 in Stamford, Connecticut, and introduced bar pies in the late ’40s. With a superthin crust and snackable…
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…
This Queens-based pizzeria, founded by a Polish immigrant, launched in 1960 but still feels fresh to younger generations. Phil Ejnes may have come to America with no English or knowledge of Italian food, but he was sharp enough to foresee the benefits of partnering with a big-dreaming pizza man, Tony Scarselli, to open up Pizza…
Joseph Letizia’s pizza recipe, emulating the indomitable man himself, has persisted through three generations of ownership—and some astonishing twists and turns in the road. As a young man, Italian immigrant Joseph Letizia shined shoes and mopped saloon floors; honed his skills as a WWI army chef; and, determined to be a good American, attended night…
At just 21 years old, a sole female proprietor boldly earned her nickname as the “pizza queen” of the Mohawk Valley, transforming a six-table hangout into a thriving two-story empire. Felicia Netti, owner of Yetty’s Pizza & Pasta in Herkimer, New York, isn’t 100% sure when the business opened—though some old timers estimate 1952, the…
Third time was a charm for the founder of this Bronx basement hangout—and, 60 years later, two brothers who joined the team as teenagers keep the pared-down pizzeria hopping. In the 1950s, Patsy Ottuso tried his hand at pizzeria ownership in Harlem and Florida before returning to New York and opening up Louie & Ernie’s…
Sporting an old-school work ethic and menu in tech-obsessed San Francisco, this North Beach institution seals its modern-day longevity by transporting diners to the past. Tommaso’s, a bona fide San Francisco legend, brought the West Coast its first wood-fired brick oven in 1935. And, nearly 85 years later, not much has changed. Some things, of…
A business-savvy Greek immigrant joined the Greeley, Colorado, town council to build a name for his new pizzeria before handing it off to a longtime employee. Following a foray into the restaurant business in Superior, Wisconsin, Fonta Fafoutis relocated to Greeley, Colorado, and jumped into the pizza game, opening Fontas Pizza in 1966. To drum…
This Little Italy institution in The Bronx, now run by 4th- and 5th-generation family members, celebrates its centennial anniversary this year. Mario’s Restaurant has its 100-year-old roots planted firmly in pizza. After Scolastica Migliucci and her son, Giuseppe, moved from Italy to New York City, they opened up a pizzeria in lower Manhattan. But when…
Two high school sweethearts who met at Bernie’s ended up generating the lifeline that would keep the pizzeria thriving for future generations. Not much is known about the very early days of Bernie’s Pizza, located in Dallas, Pennsylvania—only that it was started sometime in the 1950s by Bernie Ambrose, a sharp businessman from a family…
