Story by Alexandra Mortati | Photos courtesy of Angelina DiMaggio
This article is part of PMQ Pizza’s “12 Women to Watch“ series, in partnership with Women in Pizza and in celebration of Women’s Pizza Month. It’s an expanded version of the profile on Angelina DiMaggio featured in PMQ’s March 2026 issue.
Growing up in the family business, Angelina DiMaggio always knew pizza would be part of her life. And being born into a pizzeria legacy like DiMaggio’s Pizza (with locations in Fairfield and Flora, Illinois) gave her personal experience with every possible job. Cleaning tables at 12 and learning dough making from her dad at 17, she was “doing a little bit of everything” by the time she graduated high school. “I always enjoyed the family business,” she recalls. “I’ve seen how passionate my family is about feeding people and being in people’s lives.”
Still, DiMaggio, who represents the fourth generation at her family’s pizza company, never predicted she’d be overseeing an entire location at the young age of 19—a surprising turn of events when, in May 2024, her parents approached her and her brother with the idea of opening a second location. Though she initially hesitated, the store opened in August in Flora, Illinois. “I couldn’t wrap my head around it,” she admits. “I was already working 40 hours a week, plus overtime. I didn’t want that stress in my life, if I’m being real.”
Despite her apprehension—and her personal struggles with OCD (more on that later)—opening day was a huge success, with a two-hour wait and all hands on deck to crank out as many pizzas as they could. By that fall, DiMaggio was spending more time at the new location, and her dad soon asked her to run the show on Thursdays and Saturdays. “I was like, ‘Are you sure? You’re going to put this whole location in my hands?’” she says. “But he was confident in me. I went from running it two days a week to all five days we are open. It’s been a huge blessing.”
To Be a Pro, Start as a Beginner
Despite DiMaggio feeling the pressure, responsibility and occasional bouts of impostor syndrome, her dad leads by example—after all, he also ran his own pizzeria at 20 years old. “He said it takes time and is a learning process, and that’s something I have to remind myself of daily,” DiMaggio says. “I have a lot of hard days when it comes to running the pizza business, but my dad is so encouraging and believes in me. Both of my parents have been huge supporters. If you don’t have a team lifting you up, it’s very hard.”
With her family as her biggest champions, DiMaggio now embraces leadership and has moved from dough making to big-picture visions, working with a store manager on tasks like advertising and hiring. Venturing outside of her comfort zone, she pushes herself to grow into the role. “I’m a people pleaser—I want everyone to be happy and everything to go smoothly, but I learned that we can’t be everyone’s friend, and we won’t make everyone happy, and I have to be OK with that,” DiMaggio says. “In order to be professional, you have to start out as a beginner. I always compare myself to my dad or my grandpa—they know so much about the business. I’m still learning, but they are, too.”
DiMaggio is also invested in team development—through leadership and encouragement versus ruling with an iron fist. She’s proud of building a team of people who actually enjoy coming to work, positively influencing her employees’ lives, and working both independently and with family. “My grandma just retired, but I work with my grandpa, my dad, my mom and my brother—though I work more by myself than I do with my family now,” she explains. “We are so close and know each other so well, so we will butt heads at times. But we are also each other’s biggest cheerleaders. We have more ups than downs, and we all have a common goal.”
Rolling with OCD
For aspiring pizzaioli out there, DiMaggio’s advice is simple. “If you have that passion and desire in your heart, it can happen,” she says. “Just start and keep going and don’t stop until you get there. There will be bumps along the way. No matter how many people say, ‘Are you sure about that?’ and no matter what doubts come into your head, don’t listen. Some people won’t believe in you or be happy for your successes, but the right people will be.”
Meanwhile, as a self-professed overthinker with OCD tendencies, DiMaggio faces unique challenges in her mental health. With a mind that is “constantly racing” and prone to obsessive thoughts, she prioritizes self-care—including steering clear of social media. “My parents have been telling me I should get it for the business…but for me to keep the voices out of my head, I need to be focused on what I’m doing,” DiMaggio explains. “I know my limitations, and I know I will compare myself. I do get on there every now and then and look at our business pages, but it’s my personal decision to protect myself and be the best I can be.”
All of the responsibility and pressure of running a business can easily spark DiMaggio’s OCD tendencies—not to mention stir up relentless worries about doing the best job possible. “I got really discouraged and was really upset and kept obsessing when we got a bad review,” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘I don’t think I am leading my staff well to give people the best service,’ and put it all on myself. I had to get out of that negative rut. Everyone plays a part, so just be the best you can be every day and that will show.
“Now, we are past that and the reviews are great, but OCD is real,” DiMaggio continues. “You just kind of have to roll with it and not give in to the compulsions. As a person with OCD, everything bothers me—even the smallest thing. I’m learning that not everything is as big a deal as it seems, and some reviews are just silly.”
‘People Are Our Purpose’
In work, life and mental health, DiMaggio considers her journey a learning process. Taking things less personally and taking heart in the warmth of the pizza industry help keep her grounded. “There’s a sense of community in the pizza business,” she says. “It’s almost like we are one big family, working together. I’m happy that my family is an extended family with everyone.”
DiMaggio also remains intrigued by the science of pizza, continuing to learn the finer points of dough with her dad. “We have a little pizza oven at our house, and my dad makes some New York style, and we just sit around having pizza and fun,” she says. “It’s how we spend time together.”
This closeness also imparts to DiMaggio the heritage and lineage she is continuing. “There are little core memories people have from our family business,” she says. “It means the world to us that we get to be part of people’s lives. Our slogan is, ‘Pizza is our passion. People are our purpose.’ I 100% believe that. The future is super bright.”
Despite her OCD and anxiety, DiMaggio knows that stretching outside her comfort zone is a must—and further expansion may be in her family’s future. “My dad and [our manager], Andy, are really passionate about opening more locations, and I’ve grown that passion as well,” she says. “In the next few years, maybe I’ll be able to help start a third location. I think eventually I’ll go back to our main location in Fairfield. We have a couple of co-workers who are on board to run their own location one day. They started at 16, rolling dough, and now it’s their passion. It’s super exciting to share that passion with other people, and I’m hoping that one day they open their own location and we can guide them in that.”
DiMaggio also hopes to help pave the way for other women in the pizza business. “You don’t see a whole lot of women doing it, and if they are, they aren’t being recognized for it,” she says. “As women, we are detail-oriented, so I’m thankful I can bring that. Nothing was ever handed to me—I had to work for it, which has really built a strong work ethic in me. I work hard in each area of my life: in my own personal goals, friendships and relationships. At first, you’re like, ‘Man, I don’t want to work this hard all the time,’ but then you see the benefits of it. You have to start somewhere, and it’s OK for it to be messy.”
Alexandra Mortati is the marketing director for Orlando Foods and founder of Women In Pizza, a not-for-profit organization that empowers women in the pizza industry to share their stories, display their talents, inspire innovations, and connect with one another and the world. The article has been edited from the original version that appeared on the Instagram account for Women In Pizza. Click here to learn more about the organization.
