In 1959, Joe Aurelio Jr., at age 26, opened a small, 4 table restaurant on Ridge Rd. in Homewood, IL. In the early days, sales were driven by Joe's homecooked beef sandwiches, but as more people were exposed to his pizza, the concept began to take flight. Combining generations of family recipes with his innovative approach to pizza-making, Joe's recipe for success was born.
Over the course of the next decade, and several expansions later, the Ridge Rd. location grew to over 150 seats, consuming four storefronts. The joint was busting at the seams while trying to accommodate the lines of loyal customers that formed around the block. Recognizing the need for expansion, Joe decided to take the biggest gamble of his career by purchasing a nearby, 12,000 sf warehouse to relocate his pizzeria.