By Charlie Pogacar
When Silvana Faso says she grew up in the pizza business, she means it literally. Her father, Vince DiDiana, opened his first restaurant in 1998—the same year she was born—and she spent much of her childhood in the office, the kitchen or riding along with her mom on deliveries.
“I was just always there,” she recently told PMQ Pizza. “My dad had a little office, and I was basically there in my downtime or just generally getting in the way.”
In 2019, Silvana and her husband, Antonino “Nino” Faso, became franchisees of another Slice Factory—a pizza brand founded by Silvana’s brother, Domenic DiDiana, in the Chicagoland area. It was the Fasos first shot at running something of their own, and it was not without challenges. In fact, it didn’t go well at all.
Related: The Pivot: Navigating the Transition From Pop-Up to Brick-and-Mortar
“We struggled so hard,” Silvana said. If there was a silver lining, it was that they had built up catering sales through sheer hustle and marketing. And then, in March 2020…well, you know what happened. A pandemic. “It was a failed store,” Silvana said. “We tried to turn it around, but it didn’t work out.”
The shop closed, and with it went their savings—wedding money, the house, everything. For many operators, that might have been the end. For the Fasos, it became the beginning of a different kind of journey.
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The FedEx Truck
In 2022, the Fasos bought a FedEx truck off Facebook Marketplace. Nino and his father—who works in construction—rebuilt it by hand.
“People were like, ‘Are you crazy? Why don’t you get normal jobs?’” Silvana said. But the young couple—who welcomed their first of three sons into the world the same year—believed they were meant to be in the pizza business. They believed they could get it right with a pizza truck, which they named Da Pizza Company.
Nino, who grew up in Sicily and had become a pizza-making savant over the years, handled the kitchen operations while Silvana went to work on marketing and PR. She joined every nearby community and mom group she could find on Facebook, promoting openings, sharing their story and fielding private-party requests. “People like to see family-owned businesses,” she said. “They like to see us working. That helped us get to where we are.”
Demand exploded across Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. They were soon overbooked and operating at full tilt.
Part of Da Pizza Company’s appeal is the pizza itself. While most pizza trucks in the area lean into wood-fired Neapolitan pies, the Fasos went in a different direction. They installed electric Baker’s Pride deck ovens and committed to making every New York-style pie fresh—no par-baking, no shortcuts.
“In the food truck business, 80 percent of people try to make as much money as they can in a short period of time,” Nino said. “They cut every corner to crank out as much as they can. To me, it’s quality over quantity. People are going to remember if you give them poor-quality food.”
Not only is the New York-style offering differentiated from what rival pizza trucks offer, but it also stands in contrast to Chicago’s more popular thin-crust and deep-dish offerings. In this way, Nino and Silvana Faso are staying true to their roots. Both grew up speaking Italian—it’s actually why they were introduced by a mutual friend—and prefer to do things authentically.
“New York pizza is the closest American pizza to the culture of Italy,” Nino said. “They use whole peeled tomato sauce, high-gluten flour, high hydration—the same things we do in Italy. And Americans like it.”
Behind the scenes, Nino has cycled through dozens of dough iterations, sometimes obsessively. “I was like a mad scientist in my basement,” he said. “I’d be sleeping and think, ‘I put too much salt in there,’ and go back to make a new batch. My wife was yelling at me every day.”
Building a Team Strong Enough to Grow
The hard work the couple put in paid dividends. They quickly expanded to two trucks, and then a third. By the beginning of 2025, they were ready to get back into the brick-and-mortar business—this time on their own. They found an ideal space in Warrenville, Illinois—some 30 miles west of downtown Chicago.
The brick-and-mortar business opened in November and will serve as a home base for Da Pizza Company moving forwards. “It was scary,” Nino said. “It’s never fun to empty out your bank account and start over again.” But compared to their first attempt, this time they had confidence: a refined product, a loyal following, and operational systems proven under pressure.
“We already had our name, our concept, our base,” he said. “All the main work was done. It was just a matter of going in there and doing our thing.”
It’s been a nice change for the Fasos—and one that wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for their self belief and a team full of studs. They shouted out key team members Luigi, Marco, Mariam, Juan and Francesco as people who have helped make their dream a reality.
“All my employees are like family to me,” Nino said. “I don’t look at them as bodies in my restaurant like a lot of people do.” He knows their kids’ names; they know his. The closeness pays off: “Even when I’m not there, my guys are putting out the best quality food they possibly can because we have that relationship.”
One longtime employee has been with them since before their Slice Factory store closed. “He stuck around,” Silvana said. “When we were down, he’d do DoorDash, but he always came back. He rents from my parents now. He’s like family.”
The Engine
Despite the success of the brick-and-mortar, the Fasos still view the pizza trucks as the brand’s future. “I have no intentions of opening up another [physical] location,” Nino said. “But I want a hundred more trucks.”
In a testament to this idea, the Fasos also recently launched a second concept, Da Wing Whip—a wings-focused truck—creating another revenue channel while staying rooted in mobile operations. It’s an idea that once seemed crazy to everyone around them—but now seems like the most logical path forwards.
“I just talked to my brother, the one who owns Slice Factory yesterday,” Silvana Faso said. “He’s like, ‘You know, you’re the youngest, but I think you might be the smartest.'” The quip was affirmation—as if three food trucks and a pizzeria weren’t enough.
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