On June 1, 1963, Jim Stolfe purchased a little food stand from Connie DeGrazia on Chicago’s South Side. He left the Connie’s name on the storefront and started serving up pizza from a dough recipe he developed, incorporating techniques learned from his grandmother and a local neighborhood baker. In less … More

In 1955, three brothers leased a small burger joint in East Meadow, New York, and Borrelli’s Italian Restaurant (borrellisrestaurant.com) was born. Al whipped up Italian cuisine, Phil made pizzas, and Frank waited tables. Though they struggled the first couple of years, they borrowed and scraped to buy the building—and by … More

Cameron Mitchell knew from a very young age that he was destined for the restaurant business, and once he had his plan in place, nothing could stop him. Today, Mitchell owns more than a dozen award-winning restaurant locations across the nation under the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (cameronmitchell.com) umbrella and shows … More

If you’re doing your job well, the merest mention of your pizzeria’s name or a glimpse of your logo likely has a Pavlovian effect—the customer’s mouth begins to water, an irresistible craving for your pizza kicks in, and, suddenly, he knows exactly what he wants for dinner. The only problem … More

Ludivico Barbati, who had emigrated from Italy in 1917, learned from a local baker how to make spumoni and Italian ices in a garage in 1938. At first, he sold his products in a horse-driven wagon up and down the streets of the neighborhood, but by 1939 he had purchased … More