Mazzio's facts for kids
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| Industry | Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1961 in Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Founder | Ken Selby |
Mazzio's Corporation is the company that owns Mazzio's Italian Eatery. This restaurant chain is famous for its delicious pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches. Mazzio's also used to own Zio's Italian Kitchen, but that company was sold in 2007.
Mazzio's started as a small pizza place in 1961. Today, you can find Mazzio's restaurants in many states across the U.S. These include Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and Illinois. The very first Mazzio's, located at 3024 East 11th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is still open and serving customers!
How Mazzio's Started
Mazzio's was founded in 1961 by a school teacher named Ken Selby. He worked hard, running his new pizza business all by himself after teaching school all day. Just four years later, in 1965, Ken decided to make pizza his full-time job. He opened a second restaurant, which became even more popular than his first!
At this time, Ken changed the name of his restaurants to Ken's Pizza. This new name helped people remember his special pizza sauce and thin-crust pizzas. By 1975, Ken's Pizza had grown a lot. There were more than 100 locations, including both company-owned stores and franchise restaurants, all over Oklahoma and in nearby states.
Growing into Mazzio's Pizza
In the late 1970s, Ken Selby had a new idea. He wanted to create a bigger restaurant with more space for people to sit and eat. He also wanted to add more items to the menu. This new idea included serving thicker pizzas with more meat and cheese, sub sandwiches, and a fresh salad bar.
This exciting new restaurant concept was named Mazzio's Pizza. Over the next ten years, the Mazzio's chain grew quickly to more than 150 locations. Today, there are about 165 Mazzio's restaurants in ten different states, continuing to serve their popular Italian food.
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