Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc. facts for kids

Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc. is a company that runs popular Italian-style restaurants. These restaurants are found in Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri. They are famous for their Chicago-style food. The company started in 1990 when it took over the well-known Nancy's Pizza chain. Nancy's Pizza itself began in 1971. It was founded by Nancy and Rocco Palese, a couple who invented the idea of stuffed pizza.

Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc. helps other people open Nancy's Pizzerias and Doughocracy Pizza and Brews restaurants. In 2015, the company launched Doughocracy Pizza + Brews. This is a fast-casual pizza place where customers can pick their own toppings. They can also choose local craft beers. There is one Doughocracy restaurant in Geneva, Illinois.

Nancy's Pizza: The Story of Stuffed Pizza

Nancy's Pizza is famous for inventing Chicago-style stuffed pizza in 1971. Nancy and Rocco Palese came from Potenza, a town in Basilicata, Italy. They lived most of their adult lives in Turin before moving to the United States in 1969. They came with their three children.

How Stuffed Pizza Was Born

After living in Chicago for 18 months, Nancy and Rocco opened their first pizza place. It was called Guy's Pizza and served a popular thin crust pizza. In 1971, friends encouraged the Paleses to try making pan pizza. Instead of copying others, Rocco decided to create his own unique pizza. He based it on his family's recipe for "scarciedda," a special Easter cake from his home region, Basilicata. He called his new creation Stuffed Pizza.

Growing the Nancy's Pizza Chain

In 1974, Rocco and Nancy opened the first Nancy's Pizza location. It was in Harwood Heights, Illinois and could only seat 35 people. Three years later, they opened their first restaurant in Chicago.

In 1990, the Palese family sold the Nancy's Pizza name and all its development rights. Dave Howey, who was president of Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc., bought them. He had been working with the Paleses since 1977. Today, there are 20 Nancy's Pizza locations in Illinois. There are also six locations near Atlanta, Georgia, one in O'Fallon, Missouri, and one in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Al's Beef: Home of the Italian Beef Sandwich

In 1938, Al Ferreri and his sister Frances, along with her husband Chris Pacelli, Sr., created the original Italian Beef sandwich. They served it at Al's Beef restaurants.

The History of Al's Famous Sandwich

The idea for the Italian beef sandwich came from a need during the Great Depression. Meat was hard to find back then. Chris and Al would go to family weddings. To make the meat last for everyone, the family sliced it very thinly and made sandwiches.

The first official Al's Beef stand was a small, outdoor food stand. It had counter service and was on Laflin and Harrison Streets in Chicago’s "Little Italy" neighborhood. The beef stand grew over time. It moved to its current spot at 1079 W. Taylor Street, still in Chicago’s "Little Italy." Here, they added Chicago hot dogs, fresh hand-cut French fries, and Polish sausage to the menu.

In 1999, Chicago Franchise Systems bought the rights to Al's #1 Italian Beef Restaurants. The first Al's franchised location opened in 2001 in Tinley Park, Illinois. Al's restaurants compete with other local beef stands and larger chains like Portillo's and Buona Beef.

Al's Beef on TV

On season 1 of the TV show Man v. Food, Adam Richman visited Al's Beef in Chicago. He learned the special "Italian stance" for eating the juicy sandwich.

Later, in 2012, Richman returned to Al's for another show. It was called Best Sandwich in America. On this show, the Italian beef sandwich was chosen as the best sandwich in the Midwest.