About

Cassano’s Pizza had a humble beginning in 1953 in a 20 x 15 ft. room adjoining a grocery store on Schnatz Avenue in Kettering, Ohio. The grocery store was owned by Vic Cassano, who was then feeling the “pinch” of the large supermarkets. Vic decided to heed the suggestion on Alan, Pritchard, Dayton Daily newsman and friend, that he sell the Cassano family treat… pizza… in his grocery outlet.

After months of research and testing to develop a marketable pizza, Vic, with his mother-in-law, Mom Donisi, underwriting a loan, started his revolutionary new business. The first Vic Cassano Pizza King opened on June 4, 1953 (coincidentally Vic’s birthday), and with Vic and his equally energetic mother-in-law rolling out the dough, they sold a whopping 400 pizzas between 4pm and midnight. The enthusiasm of Daytonians for pizza was apparent. The Pizza King business continued to increase so Vic and Mom opened another Pizza King at the opposite end of town just two months later.

Corporate head quarters moved into a new facility at 1700 E. Stroop Road in Kettering, Ohio in 1968. Serving the entire company, this complex includes a vast warehouse, test kitchen, pizza dough production room, and larger refrigeration units. Also housed there are the company’s executive offices.

Cassano’s has operated under many different names: Pizza King, London Bobby Fish and Chips, Vic Cassano and Mom Donisi Pizza King, Vic and Mom’s Family Pub, Vic Cassano, and Mom Donisi Pizza King/ London Bobby Fish and Chips, etc. An identity problem was beginning to develop, especially in new markets where Cassano’s was not known. Early in 1974 a New York consulting firm was asked to research Cassano’s and recommend the direction Cassano’s should take in the future. They confirmed the conclusion already reached by the Executive Staff of Cassano’s. The jumble of confusing names and identities were thrown out and a bold new logo appeared…CASSANO’S PIZZA & SANDWICHES.

Dayton-based, and previously concentrated in the Dayton area, the restaurant chain began to expand aggressively. Also expanding was the Cassano’s franchise program. Although presently the great majority of Cassano’s Pizza & Sandwich outlets are company-owned, an energetic franchise program has been initiated. Cassano’s Indian Lake is a Cassano’s franchise that is independently owned and operated by the Kimmel family since 1975.

Quality, cleanliness, and service are the three basic ingredients for the success of Cassano’s. These, in addition to a strong desire to serve the public, have helped Cassano’s evolve from a small grocery store into the first Cassano Pizza King and into a Cassano’s Pizza & Sandwich multi-unit corporation.