Cassano's Pizza King facts for kids
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Former Cassano's location in Springboro, Ohio
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food wholesale |
| Founded | Dayton, Ohio, USA (June 4, 1953) |
| Headquarters | Dayton, Ohio, USA |
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Key people
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Vic Cassano, Sr. (Co-founder, d. 2002), Vic Cassano Jr. (d. 2010) |
| Products | Pizza, Subs, Salads |
Cassano's Pizza King, often called Cassano's, is a popular pizzeria chain. It started in Dayton, Ohio, and is famous for its special "Dayton-style pizza."
The company was founded on June 4, 1953. A grocer named Victor "Vic" J. Cassano, Sr. and his mother-in-law, Caroline "Mom" Donisi, started it together. Cassano's has many restaurants in the Dayton area. It also has franchise locations in other parts of Ohio, and even in Quincy, Illinois, and Hannibal, Missouri.
Besides full restaurants, Cassano's also has smaller Cassano's Pizza Express spots. You can find these in gas stations, convenience stores, and hotels. The company also sells frozen pizza dough called Cassano's Fresh Frozen Dough Company.
From the mid-1980s to 1997, the chain was known as Cassano's Pizza and Subs. Some older signs and menus still show this name. In the 1970s, Cassano's was even ranked as one of the top four pizza chains in the United States. In 2016, a special historical marker was placed in Kettering, Ohio, to honor Cassano's Pizza King.
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What Makes Cassano's Pizza Special?
Cassano's traditional pizza is known as "Dayton Style Pizza." It has a very thin, crispy crust that tastes a bit salty. This pizza is usually cut into small rectangular pieces, not triangles like most pizzas. This is called a "party cut." This unique style is also found in other local pizza places in Dayton.
How Cassano's Grew and Changed
Cassano's once had franchises in many other states, like Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Indiana. The chain grew to over 100 locations at one point.
In 1986, Vic Cassano, Jr. sold the company to a larger business called Greyhound Food Management. At that time, Cassano's had 48 locations. Greyhound wanted to open many more restaurants, hoping to compete with big chains like Domino's Pizza.
Greyhound tried opening many delivery-only restaurants. However, Cassano's pizza was more expensive than other delivery pizzas. This made it hard to compete. Greyhound also changed some classic menu items and did not update older stores as planned. Because of these problems, the big expansion did not happen. Many of the new Cassano's locations were closed.
In 1989, Vic Cassano, Jr. bought the company back with another executive. They faced more challenges. In 1995, the company had 43 restaurants and faced financial difficulties.
To help the company, Cassano Jr. worked with a business consultant. They worked hard to pay off debts and improve the company's money flow. Even though more locations had to close, the company slowly started to grow again. By 2003, they had 38 restaurants.
New Ways to Grow
In 2004, Cassano's opened a large call center at its main office. This allowed customers to call one number to order pizza from any location. This call center helped Cassano's business grow by 20 percent in its first year. Vic Cassano Jr. also planned to update all the stores and expand delivery services.
In 2005, a new restaurant opened, and sales continued to increase. In 2006, Cassano's announced plans to open four more pizzerias in the Dayton area. They also planned to rebuild an existing store.
By 2007, the chain had 33 locations. Vic Cassano Jr. planned to invest in new machines for making dough and add more new stores. Vic Cassano Jr. passed away in 2010.
After 2010, several restaurants were moved or renovated. The company also added online ordering to its website. In 2011, Pizza Today magazine ranked Cassano's as one of the top pizza companies in the U.S. based on sales.
Selling Pizza Dough
Cassano's makes its pizza dough at a special facility. The dough is quickly frozen before being sent to the restaurants. Since 1994, Cassano's also sells this frozen dough to other businesses, like caterers, through its Cassano's Fresh Frozen Dough Company.
See also
