LaRosa's Pizzeria

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LaRosa's Pizzeria

Type	Restaurant
Founded	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. (1954)
Founder	Donald "Buddy" LaRosa
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
No. of locations	61 stores (2007)
Area served	Greater Cincinnati Area
Key people	Donald "Buddy" LaRosa (Founder) Michael LaRosa (CEO/President), T.D. Hughes (Chairman of the Board)
Industry	Restaurant
Products	Pizza, Pasta, and much more. Nearly 50 items.
Revenue	▲ US$100,000,000
Website	larosas.com

LaRosa's Pizza is a restaurant chain local to the greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio areas, as well as northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. Founded by Donald "Buddy" LaRosa, along with fellow workers Sal and Ralph, in 1954, the family and franchise partners now operate 60 locations.^[1] The original location (now remodeled) is on the west side of Cincinnati on Boudinot Ave. LaRosa's is famous for the old slogan, "Tastes so Good, You Want it Bad", and now, "That's What Makes us LaRosa's". The company has annual sales approaching $100 million.

LaRosa's signature pizza is a thin crust variety made with a distinctive thick, sweet sauce and topped with provolone cheese. LaRosa's sauce can be purchased at many Cincinnati grocery stores and many other vendors.

In 1991, LaRosa's invested heavily in the implementation and marketing of a single number call distribution center for delivery orders. Its phone number is prominently featured in advertising. LaRosa's is very popular in the area, exceeding Snappy Tomato Pizza, Donatos Pizza, Pizza Hut and Papa John's in market share.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to the retail stores, LaRosa's Pizza is the exclusive pizza served at the Kings Island amusement park. Also, in 2007, LaRosa's partnered with the Cincinnati Reds to begin a service that allows fans within Great American Ballpark to have a pizza delivered to their seat. The fans contact the call center via cell phone to place the order and the pizza is delivered from one of three locations within the stadium.

Many members of the LaRosa family still run the business and have been very active in sponsoring local youth sports programs.^[2]

On February 27, 2008 Michael LaRosa was installed as the new CEO of LaRosa's, Inc. T.D. Hughes (CEO, LaRosa's 1990-2007) remains the Chairman of the Board.^[3]