Nancy's Pizza expands
Cousins Michael Salvadori and Tony Stellato grew up in an Italian family where food was the focus of just about every gathering.
The two men, who spent a lot of time together growing up, often talked about starting a business someday. They recently made this a reality when they launched a Nancy's Pizza franchise in Streamwood. "Being Italian, we know good Italian food," said Salvadori, a resident of Aurora.
The men own and operate Nancy's Pizza, 652 S. Sutton St., which offers take out and delivery services.
Known for stuffed pizza, the entrepreneurs stress that they use the finest ingredients and that everything is made fresh daily. They offer four types of crust. The signature original stuffed pizza features a 2½-inch pie. The stuffed light pizza is an inch smaller. The original thin crust and the super thin crust are other popular options.
The menu highlights dozens of other options as well. The Streamwood store is a new prototype for the pizza company, which started in Chicago more than 30 years ago.
Prior to launching the business, Salvadori, 27, attended culinary school and then worked at local restaurants. "Growing up, I would love to watch and help my mom, Marie, in the kitchen," he said.
Stellato, 30, resides in Glenview. He graduated with a finance degree from the University of Iowa and worked as an accountant before launching the business.
There are more than 40 other Nancy's Pizza locations, including restaurants in Addison, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Elmhurst, Naperville, Roselle, Schaumburg and Wheaton.
The business started in 1970 when Nancy and Rocco Palese opened a small pizzeria in Chicago. The couple lived most of their adult lives in Turin, Italy, making pizza before emigrating with their three children from Potenza.
They experimented with various recipes before launching successful restaurants that earned many awards for best pizza in Chicago.
In 1990, the name Nancy's and all development rights were purchased from the founders. Dave Howey, president of Chicago Franchise Systems Inc., purchased the company. He had been a licensee of the Paleses since 1978.
In addition to Illinois, the company also has operations in Georgia, North Carolina and Indiana.
The Streamwood eatery is open from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information, call (630) 497-0400 or check out www.nancyspizza.com.
Now open: Multiform Fitness opened at 1588 Algonquin Road in the Huntington Plaza II Shopping Center in Hoffman Estates.
The company chooses smaller locations and offers amenities such as sauna rooms, special lighting, tanning and an art gallery. For more, check out www.multiformfitness.com.
Finalists named: Salter Housewares of Oak Brook and Trudeau Corp. of Woodridge are finalists in the Housewares Design Awards competition.
Salter ranked in the food preparation electrics category while Trudeau ranked in the kitchen hand tools category.