Giordano's facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | February 1974 |
| Founder | Efren Boglio Joseph Boglio |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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58 |
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Area served
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Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin |
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Key people
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Giordano's is a popular American pizza restaurant. It is famous for its special Chicago-style stuffed pizza. Two brothers, Efren and Joseph Boglio, started Giordano's in 1974. They opened their first restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.
Since then, Giordano's has grown a lot. It now has over 65 locations. You can find their restaurants in many states. These include Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Giordano's also offers catering for events. You can even order their frozen pizzas to be shipped to your home!
Contents
The Story of Giordano's Pizza
The Boglio brothers, Efren and Joseph, were born in a small town. This town was near Turin, Italy. Their mother was known for her amazing recipes. Her family especially loved her Easter pizza pies.
First, the brothers moved to Argentina. Later, they both came to the U.S. Efren started working at a pizza place in Chicago. But he didn't really like the pizzas there. So, he decided to open his own restaurant called Roma.
When Joseph arrived in Chicago, the brothers had an idea. They wanted to use their mother's special recipe. After trying different things for several months, they created the stuffed pizza. In 1974, they opened Giordano's.
Who Really Invented Stuffed Pizza?
Some people have questioned if Giordano's was the first to make stuffed pizza. Another pizza chain, Nancy's Pizza, also started making stuffed pizza in the same year. Both companies say their pizza came from a family recipe. This recipe was for a dish called scarciedda. It's an Easter dish from parts of Italy.
Because the stories are so similar, some people think the founders of Giordano's and Nancy's Pizza might be connected.
Giordano's Gets New Owners
In 1988, John Apostolou and his wife Eva bought Giordano's. John was from Greece. In 1993, he shared his big plans. He wanted to open over 100 new Giordano's restaurants. These would be in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
However, these big plans didn't quite happen. Giordano's did open a restaurant in Milwaukee in 1995. They planned for five more there. But the Milwaukee location closed in 2002. The first major growth outside Illinois began in 2005. That's when Giordano's opened places in Florida.
Financial Challenges and New Sale
The Apostolou family faced tough economic times. Their company had problems with their real estate loans. In 2011, they had to file for a type of financial protection. This meant Giordano's was also included in the process.
The company needed emergency money to keep operating. Even though many restaurants were struggling, Giordano's lawyer said the problem was with real estate, not pizza sales.
After this, four restaurants closed. The legal process became complicated. Eventually, John and Eva Apostolou sold the business. They sold it for $52 million to a company called Victory Park Capital Advisors LLC. In November 2011, Giordano's was sold again for $61.6 million. A group of companies bought it. This group included George and Bill Apostolou, who are John and Eva's sons.
Where You Can Find Giordano's
Before its financial challenges, Giordano's had many restaurants. There were 13 in Chicago itself. Another 30 were in the wider Chicago metropolitan area. The company opened its first locations outside Illinois in 2005. These were in northern and central Florida.
Early Florida locations included Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee. By October 2007, more stores opened. These were in Port Richey, Brandon, and Tampa.
In February 2015, Giordano's opened a new restaurant. This one was in Indianapolis. It was the second location in Indiana. The first was in Merrillville. In July 2015, Giordano's came to Minnesota. They opened a restaurant in the Uptown area of Minneapolis.
Today, there are over 40 stores in the Chicago area. Some are located in other states. Three locations in Florida are run by franchisees. On April 12, 2018, it was announced that Omaha, Nebraska would get a Giordano's. Omaha had won a contest in 2017 to be the next city to get a restaurant.
Omaha beat out cities like Dallas and Houston. There was some confusion about whether Giordano's would actually come. But on April 12, 2018, Giordano's confirmed it. Their marketing manager announced, "We are definitely coming!"
As of January 2020, Giordano's has locations outside Illinois in many states. These include Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Nevada. You can also find them in Wisconsin.
Giordano's Main Competitors
Giordano's is one of Chicago's most famous pizzerias. It has several big competitors for Chicago-style deep dish pizza. These include Pizzeria Uno, Nancy's, Gino's East, Pizano's, and Lou Malnati's.
For its thin crust pizza, Giordano's competes with places like Home Run Inn, Connie's, Aurelio's, and Rosati's. Giordano's, along with Uno and Gino's, is often called one of Chicago's "main pizza triumvirate." This means they are considered the top three pizza places.
What's on the Menu at Giordano's?
The stuffed pizza at Giordano's has two crusts. There's a top crust and a bottom crust. Cheese is stuffed in between these crusts. You can also add other toppings inside. Popular choices include pepperoni, Italian sausage, and spinach.
Sauce and parmesan cheese are added on top of the crust. Giordano's pizza crust is made from a special dough. This dough is high in gluten. It takes several days to prepare. People describe the crust as soft and flaky. It has a traditional Chicago-style shape.
Images for kids
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Giordano's logo
