MILWAUKEE — Pretty much everyone loves pizza. Made in Wisconsin visits the nearly billion-dollar business in Milwaukee that has been serving up frozen pies for decades. Palermo’s Pizza transitioned from an Italian restaurant to a frozen pizza manufacturer in the late '70s and hasn’t looked back since.
Inside the Palermo’s headquarters in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, there’s a flurry of activity as 500,000 pizzas are made every day. From the local ingredients to the imported Italian ovens, it’s all part of the Fallucca family recipe, dating back to their roots in Sicily.
Third-generation family member Nick Fallucca, who is in management at the company today, took me on a tour, pointing out the artisan crust line used for some of their pizzas.
"You take an individual dough ball and roll it down into an oval first and then into a round," Fallucca said. I asked if they are meant to be perfect circles. Fallucca said, "No, this line is designed to be artisan. So, basically, if you’re hand-stretching at home, your pizza is never going to be perfectly round." He also emphasized the importance of the crust. "The crust is the most important thing. I mean, that’s the base—that’s where you get your texture, your flavor. It’s definitely the most important part."
Once the base of the pizza is made and baked, it’s down the line for homemade sauce and, of course, Wisconsin cheese and all the toppings. Then it’s off to the flash freezer, packaging, and to your local grocery store.
Watch: Take a tour of Palermo's Pizza with Tom Durian:
Palermo’s pizzas are available across the country and in parts of Europe and Asia. Giacomo Fallucca, who started working in his parents’ restaurant as a kid, is now the CEO of the company and focused on expansion. In the beginning, pizzas were made in the restaurant basement. Palermo’s now operates out of a nearly 250,000-square-foot building in the Menomonee Valley.
I asked Giacomo if they ever imagined the business would grow to what it is today. "Not until our first planning process," Giacomo said. "From that point on, it changed the trajectory of our company—how we looked at the business, how we looked at our people, what was important." He says the next goal is reaching a billion dollars in sales, which may come very soon.
The Falluccas say they are constantly evolving the company and its offerings. When I asked where they go for inspiration, they said Italy and the pizzerias around Milwaukee. "We look to the restaurants first... I love Zaffiro’s, I love Calderone, I love Brute sourdough."
Palermo’s has expanded beyond pizza, acquiring Milwaukee’s own Funky Fresh Spring Rolls in 2022. They currently have production facilities in the Menomonee Valley, West Milwaukee, and Jefferson.
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