By Tracy Morin
In 1959, Joe Aurelio Jr. borrowed $2,500 to open Aurelio’s Pizza in Homewood, Illinois, taking over a failing pizzeria with four tables and one oven. But it wasn’t pizza that initially kept him afloat—in Chicago’s south suburbs, customers were more interested in his Italian beef sandwiches.
“He let people sample his pizza and, one slice at a time, the pizza became popular,” recounts his son, Joe Aurelio III, current president and CEO. “His goal was to do $200 in sales in a week.”
By 1961, sales were robust enough to justify moving to a nearby storefront, growing the space to 75 tables, with beer and wine sales and an expanded kitchen. In 1968, the pizzeria doubled, expanding to 150 seats. Finally, in 1976, Joe. Jr. purchased a warehouse two blocks away, sinking a then-whopping $1 million into outfitting the 10,000-square-foot building (now expanded to 13,000, with seating for 650)—and lines still stretched down the block, with one-hour wait times.
“We’re the largest pizzeria in the world,” Joe III says. “And we’ve been recognized as the fifth-oldest franchise in the country, starting in 1974. My dad was a pioneer in the business.”
Indeed, decades before robotics, Aurelio worked with the Pizzamatic company to design a sausage dispenser to top pies faster and more consistently. “My dad was an innovator, but sometimes the technology wasn’t available yet,” Joe III told PMQ in 2020. “He teamed up with a local engineer who asked, ‘Joe, what could I make to help speed up your pizza process?’ My dad said, ‘If you can find a way to put this meat on the pizza without doing it by hand’—because it was fresh, homemade Italian sausage—’it will speed up the process.’ He meant [a tool that would] portion it and cut it, have it drop on the pie, then you’re done.”
Joe III’s dad also introduced a stainless steel lifting rack to elevate pizzas post-bake for maximum crispness. And the business still contracts a Wisconsin cheese maker to create a “no-burn” mozzarella that’s unique to Aurelio’s.
To celebrate the company’s 65th anniversary last year, Joe III visited all 37 locations in five states to film the people behind the pizza, sharing their stories and community contributions (a defining value of the brand). In a collaboration, Illinois-based Two Brothers Brewing Company crafted the 65th Anniversary Italian Pilsner, to be served at participating Aurelio’s locations. Social media and in-store giveaways featured branded merchandise, sports and concert tickets, and autographed Chicago sports memorabilia.
Of course, giving back to numerous charities was part of the anniversary fun. “We’re known for making people feel like part of the family,” Joe III says. “One of the secrets of our success has been letting people know: ‘We’re there for you.’ If we feel it’s the right thing to do, we do it.”
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
