The Evolution Of A Pizza Dynasty

In Ames Iowa, the smell of freshly baking pizza lingers outside of a restaurant. Behind the store front glass, a line of white-shirted cooks construct pizza after pizza in the tradition of a special Italian family recipe. This is Pagliai's Pizza. More than thirty Pagliai's Pizzas have existed across the Midwest, in Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio. People have been enjoying these authentic Italian pizzas for generations. Even with the large variety of locations and expanding business, there is one thing that never changes: the quality of the pizzas. At every location the customers can expect nothing less than the prized taste and unwavering quality of a Pagliai's meal. This consistancy is accomplished through the strict recipe and ingredient guidelines, the stability of the kitchen staff organization, and the intense focus on quality and family that personifies the Pagliai's establishment.

Family Secrets Revealed

Each week, a Wisconsin dairy ships an exclusive, custom-made 100% mozzarella cheese to the Pagliai restaurants. This special blend, created according to Pagliai's specifications and certified by the National Dairy Council, blends skim and whole milks. Preservative-free, lean Italian sausage is ground weekly using small seven-pound preferred cuts of pork roast, a succulent cut regularly chosen by home cooks. Pizza and spaghetti sauces are precise replicas of Mama and Papa Pagliai's wholesome mixtures of tomatoes, onion, garlic and assorted spices right down to the last dash of oregano. Diners may discover a few other family secrets as they watch their own pizzas being prepared in open, easy-to-view kitchens and slid into stone hearth ovens.