From humble beginnings in the former Century III Mall, Italian Village Pizza recently sold it’s 100 millionth slice.
It took nearly 44 years and many locations, but the Pittsburgh long-time pizza tradition got it done.
It all started with Frank Veltri Sr., who came from Italy to New York City at the age of 12 in 1967.
Fast forward to 1980. Veltri had some ties the mall and brought his New York style recipes to Pittsburgh and it became a big hit and they were able to branch out.
There are now 18 locations of Italian Village Pizza. While most are in the Pittsburgh area, current owner Frank Veltri Jr. says they operate one in Orlando Florida, one in Kentucky and even one in his father’s hometown in Italy.
Veltri Jr. says they went through each location and with the help of software were able to discover they sold 100 million slices of pizza.
“We were surprised ourselves at the number that it was,” Veltri Jr. told KDKA Radio.
They celebrated the occasion with $1 slices on National Pizza Day.
Now that they’ve passed 100 million, Veltri Jr. says they’re still keeping track.
“We actually keep track everyday because we are a big slice business, we have a big display at most of our locations,” said Veltri Jr.
At their larger locations, you can find between 15-20 different pizzas available at one time.
The newest location is a new scratch-kitchen concept called Italian Village Pizza Trattoria in the Waterworks Mall, Fox Chapel. They make all of their pastas and sauces in hours.