Every bite of hand-stretched, mozzarella-covered crust at Sbarro can trace its roots back to Naples, Italy. It was there that the Sbarro family began its rich culinary tradition, and when Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro came to America, they brought that tradition with them. In search of the American Dream, the pair opened their first salumeria in Brooklyn in 1956. And the neighborhood took notice. The homemade mozzarella and flavorful sausage soon earned the grocery a reputation for having fresh, authentic Italian food, a reputation that helped the Sbarros pepper New York with additional locations over the next decade. Then, in 1967, they established their first mall-based restaurant inside the Kings Plaza Shopping Center. With its open kitchen and speedy service, that eatery laid the groundwork for what would become one of the world's most popular pizzerias.

Today, Sbarro has grown into more than 1,000 restaurants across the globe. At each, chefs decorate their New York-style pizzas with everything from mushrooms and sausage to pineapple and broccoli, along with sauce made on-site using fresh herbs. And while Sbarro serves more than 70 million pizzas every year—enough to make pepperoni one of agriculture's most lucrative cash crops—they also craft other Italian favorites from recipes that have been passed down since 1947.