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…
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…
Now encompassing 414 locations across eight states, Round Table Pizza spawned from humble, hand-drawn beginnings as the singular vision of one man with a big dream. Bill Larson, a Navy man in the 1950s, was first exposed to pizza overseas—in Japan, not Italy. Upon his U.S. return, he worked for companies like Coca-Cola and Safeway,…
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…
Balancing old-school charm with millennial-friendly updates, this still-expanding SoCal enterprise celebrated 65 years in 2020. La Bella Pizza Garden in Chula Vista, California, was the brainchild of Tony Raso, a Purple Heart-decorated war veteran and dairy farmer, and his wife, Kitty, who honed her service charms as a waitress in Manhattan. Escaping the harsher winters…
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…
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…
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….
This popular Yonkers hangout, celebrating 50 years in 2020, strikes an impressive balance between old-school traditions and of-the-moment innovations. Only one day after arriving in the United States, Frank Fiorino was already employed at a pizzeria in the Bronx, New York, where the owner, Fred Greco, was a childhood friend in Italy. Soon, the pair…
