Three-and-a-half years after the death of Sparano’s Pizza founder Steve Hill, his son John is turning the restaurant’s keys over to another Columbus, Ohio pizza brand—but he’s keeping the recipes to himself.
Sparano’s operated for 24 years, carrying on even after Steve retired in 2013 and winning the prestigious Slice of Columbus competition several times. Steve died of cancer in November 2021 at just 54, leaving the restaurant in John’s hands.
In a May 13 post on Facebook, John announced that he’s “passing the pepperoni” to Cappy’s Pizza, “effective immediately.” Cappy’s is even older than Sparano’s—Bob Capuano founded it in 1972 before selling to Andy Morse in 2018.
Now Sparano’s spot on West Broad Street will become the third location of Cappy’s Pizza while John Hill looks to continue his dad’s legacy by opening a new pizzeria of his own.
“Cappy’s has been around for over 50 years, and we feel that they are the best company to meet the needs of our customers and serve up some great pizza,” Sparano’s post on Facebook reads. “Cappy’s will be keeping the same phone number and the same address at 3947 West Broad Street.”
But in the comments on that post, John, writing from his personal account, added, “To all who want to know: The recipes did not go to the new owner. The [Sparano’s] name is taken for now and not able to be used. As I am Steve’s eldest son, I feel it is my responsibility to keep his legacy alive with Sparano’s, if not in name, at least with his recipes. [I don’t know] how long it will take me, but I will open up a pizza place again [in] my dad’s honor.”
Sparano’s billed itself as the “home of the Heavy Duty Pizza,” a specialty pie loaded with pepperoni, sausage, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, banana peppers and extra cheese. Also on the menu was the Heavy Meat Pizza, featuring pepperoni, ham, ground beef, sausage and extra cheese. Both pizzas were available in 7”, 10” and 12” sizes.
