Bruno’s Little Italy

This Arkansas institution boasts a rich family heritage over generations of pizza making—and its latest location is helping revive a modern-day downtown. Just after the turn of the century, in 1903, Giovanni Bruno emigrated from Naples, Italy, landing in New York and opening a bakery with his brother, where they sold pizza. His son, Vincenzo…

Johnny’s Pizza House

After bankruptcy threatened its future, this Louisiana institution surged back from the brink, thanks to a bold and unforgettable publicity stunt by its founder. By 1989, Johnny’s Pizza House was in trouble. The business had enjoyed 22 years of growth since its 1967 founding in West Monroe, Louisiana, but despite counting 42 locations in three…

Jerry & Joe’s Pizza

Overcoming dirt-floor beginnings and boom-and-bust bubbles, this South Florida staple has allowed generations of hardworking immigrants to succeed in America. Italian-born Italo “Jerry” Barone may have started as a restaurant cook and dishwasher up in New York, but by the early ’50s, he was running his own outfit in Brooklyn—and scouting a second location in…

Pizza Inn

Through booms and busts, Pizza Inn has continued to innovate, even as its parent company has expanded into the fast-casual segment. Pizza Inn has come a long way since Joe Spillman opened his first location in 1958 across from the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. But the road has been a pretty rough…

Coletta’s

This Memphis institution was Elvis Presley’s favorite pizzeria—‘nuff said! In 1922, Emil Coletta opened the Suburban Ice Cream Company, selling ice cream and Italian dishes. But when his son Horest took over the business in the early 1950s, he decided to focus more on food and added pizza to the menu. Largely unfamiliar to Memphis…

Robert Leucht was the first in town to offer a pizza buffet

PizzAroma

This Kentucky pizzeria went from humble beginnings to 50-plus years of success, thanks to innovation, attention to quality and a can-do attitude. Robert Leucht didn’t know much about the pizza business when he opened PizzAroma (pizzaroma.com) in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1963. What’s more, the locals didn’t really know pizza either. But with a recipe and…

Frankie’s Pizza

From its grand opening on Valentine’s Day in 1955, Miami’s oldest pizzeria began as a true labor of love. After young Frank Pasquarella and his wife, Noreen, visited Miami on their honeymoon, they fell in love with the city and decided to relocate from Ohio and open a pizzeria. On Valentine’s Day in 1955, Frankie’s…