Marco's Pizza Oakley

Pasquale Giammarco grew up working in his parents' pizzeria, which they opened after emigrating from Italy to the United States when Pasquale was 9. In 1978, adult Pasquale opened his own pizzeria, Marco’s Pizza, where he continued to top pies in the sauce recipe he and his father refined together. Beyond the sauce, which harmoniously blends three types of vine-ripened tomatoes, Pasquale perfected his dough—made fresh daily—and his cheese, which never saw a freezer before bedecking a pizza.

Nowadays, Marco’s Pizza’s brand has spread to more than 250 stores scattered across 21 states. Their specialty pies—whose diameters extend up to 16 inches—emerge from the oven in variants such as the Meat Supremo, topped with pepperoni, ham, italian sausage, and bacon, or a vegetarian style complete with mushrooms, olives, and tomatoes. Alternatively, patrons can customize their pizza toppings to please their unique palates, which may register salt as sweetness or sweetness as a telltale sign that the tooth fairy is hiding behind their molars. Wings in three flavors complement the pizzas, along with freshly baked hoagies and verdant salads.