Pizzerias often rely on a unified theme to bring customers in; positioning themselves as a family-friendly atmosphere or a sports-viewing destination can help create the recognizable image and brand of the restaurant. For years, pizzerias have perfected the art of selling themselves as a side dish to their pizza—a profitable strategy. Occasionally, though, a pizzeria abandons this marketing idea, … More

Pizzeria Piccola (pizzeriapiccola.com) in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, isn’t very big. In fact, this restaurant’s name translates from Italian as “small pizzeria.” A modest yet prized brand in the 11-unit Bartolotta Restaurant Group, founded by brothers Joe and Paul Bartolotta in 1993, Pizzeria Piccola measures less than 2,000 square feet but manages to bring in nearly $1 million in average annual … More

With a $75 down payment and a loan of $500, brothers Tom and James Monaghan bought their first pizza store, called DomiNick’s, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1960. James ended up selling his stake in the company months later to his brother for a Volkswagen Beetle, when the company still operated in the red. … More

When Mark Brockriede, current owner of Freddie’s Restaurant & Pizzeria (freddiespizzeria.com) in Long Branch, New Jersey, took over the pizzeria’s operations in 1995 as a third-generation owner from the original family, many customers were worried that he’d change too much and lose the familiarity of a restaurant that had been in business since 1944. After all, … More

Home Run Inn (homeruninn.com) began in 1923 as a small tavern on Chicago’s South Side. Founded by Mary and Vincent Grittani, the tavern received its name when a baseball from the neighborhood park flew through one of the windows. It wasn’t until son-in-law Nick Perrino returned from an Army stint War II that Nick … More

Today, pizza from New Haven, Connecticut, is legendary for its misshapen appearance, thin crust and charred edges—but someone had to start it all, and that someone was Frank Pepe, who in 1925 opened up Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (pepespizzeria.com). Pepe, an immigrant from Italy’s Amalfi Coast, returned to New Haven in 1920 after World War … More

In search of pies like they got back home, Chicago residents Bill Carroll and J. Spillane became pizza pioneers and created their own style of pizza.  In Chicago, the deep-dish pizza reigns supreme. So when two entrepreneurs with roots in Massachusetts conceived the idea of a New England-style thin crust pizza joint in the heart of Chicago, they … More

In 1959, Mary Fazio wisely took this casual advice from a friend: “You make such good pizza; you should open a restaurant.” The friend’s husband lent Mary one of his vacation cottages and, with help from her husband and son Toto, she quickly set up Mary’s Pizza Shack (maryspizzashack.com) in Boyes Hot Springs, … More

ldquo;We’re Rolex guys, not Timex guys,” laughs Jeff Good, managing partner at Mangia Bene, a three-restaurant group in Jackson, Mississippi, that includes Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint (salandmookies.com). “We’re better doing something more complex, with more moving parts.” Sal & Mookie’s, indeed, has a plethora of moving parts: a full-service adult lounge, the Pi(e) Lounge; an … More

In 1960, Italian immigrants Pat DeLuca and his brother-in-law Jim opened the Willow Bar, a neighborhood bar for nearby factory workers, in Lansing, Michigan, but the pizza they served became so popular the business eventually switched its name to DeLuca’s Restaurant and Pizzeria (delucaspizza.com). When Jim retired in 1977, the transition to family eatery … More

In the early 1950s, tavern owner Cosimo Fricano (known as Gus) decided that his menu needed a boost. After seeing a sign that said “pizza” near Wrigley Field in Chicago, he returned home determined to introduce this new item in his own business—but met with little enthusiasm from those around him, including his Sicilian … More