MILWAUKEE — A staple of Milwaukee and the city's food scene is reaching a major milestone. It's time to say congratulations to Zaffiro's Pizza for celebrating its 70th anniversary this May.
The iconic pizzeria has been slinging slices to hungry Milwaukeeans since 1954. Zaffiro’s has served thousands upon thousands of pizzas to all types of Milwaukeeans from your 9 to 5ers to former Brewers player Ryan Braun, former Bucks coach Don Nelson, and the late politician and businessman Herb Kohl.
“Everybody gets together sitting at this bar and it’s a good time," Michael Zaffiro, the owner said.
Originally, brothers John and Bobby Zaffiro opened Rock-A-Bye Tap in the Third Ward in 1952. They started selling pizzas in 1954. Then in 1956, the brothers moved the business to its current location near the corner of Farwell Avenue and Brady Street.
In 1970, the brothers bought the neighboring barbershop to expand the restaurant. In 1990, Bobby's son, Michael, took over as owner. He inked a deal with Marcus Theaters to license the name Zaffiro's to create a franchise. There are Zaffiro's locations attached to Marcus Theaters across the Midwest including Nebraska, Missouri, and Minnesota.
The restaurant will officially turn 70 on May 28, 2024.
“We had my first birthday here. So I mean I’ve been here ever since," Michael Zaffiro said.
Michael Zaffiro has seen generations of families come in to order a pizza. He has witnessed the entire cycle of life.
Watch the story on Zaffiro's 70th Anniversary here...
“People when they’re single will move on Prospect Avenue because of all the apartments, and then you see them they come in, they come in. All of a sudden they’re married. The next thing you know they’re coming in with their kids.”
Seeing families grow and make memories in his restaurant motivates Zaffiro every day.
"I enjoy what the people get out of it. And our customers cause, we've had terrific customers over the years. We've got to be on the 5th generation of some people," he said.
Zaffiro believes what keeps bringing people back is the service, the same friendly faces behind the bar, and of course the delicious food. Zaffiro's is known for it's iconic thin crust pizza. The recipe for that crust, the spaghetti sauce, and the pizza sauce haven't changed since 1954.
“My father worked on the crust for a long time he knew what he wanted that thin thin and he mixed and matched and finally came up with this. And nobody changes any recipes," Zaffiro said.
That iconic crust has kept people coming for years and years.
"Thin pizza. Best pizza in the world," Mike Speich, a customer of 30 years, said.
"The pizza’s great. I love the very very thin crust. No one else I bought from in town has that," customer Bill Bartlett said.
"The sauce. It's the sauce. I love the sauce," customer Jason Ashford said.
The restaurant's popularity has helped it survive through tough times like economic recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's a little bill with four people here. And you go somewhere else we're talking $200 or whatever. You come here (the meal is) $60 for three people."
As for the future of the restaurant, that is up to Zaffiro's children.
“Both of my children are working here now, and they're in their 20s, and they’re working here, and seem to like it. So that’s their call. If they want this for the rest of their life, they can have it. If not, they can do what they’d like to do," Zaffiro said.
To celebrate the milestone, the restaurant is doing a series of raffles and giveaways from May 30 to June 2.
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