| Type | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 1974 in Chicago, Illinois |
| Headquarters | Illinois, USA |
| Website | www.giordanos.com |
Giordano's is a pizzeria that specializes in Chicago-style pizza. The company started in 1974 after the owners, brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio, Italian immigrants, were discouraged at the lack of authentic pizza available in the Chicago area.[1] The company's slogan is "Chicago's World Famous Stuffed Pizza." Giordano's is one of the creators of the stuffed pizza.[2]
The pizza pie, which the pair claims is based on their mother's recipes, was originally sold at Roma's Pizza in the 1960s before Joe moved to Chicago and helped to found the current franchise. Giordano's is one of the most famous of Chicago's pizzerias, and its major competitors in the Chicago-style deep dish field are Pizzeria Uno, Nancy's, Gino's East, and Lou Malnati's while its thin crust pizza competes primarily with Home Run Inn, Connie's, Aurelio's and Rosati's. Along with Uno's and Gino's, Giordano's has been described as one of Chicago's "main pizza triumvirate".[3] The Rough Guide to Chicago has written, "Although most pizza parlors offer deep-dish, the following places have perfected it: Pizzeria Uno, Lou Malnati's ..., and Giordano's."[4]
On February 18, 2011, Giordano's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,[5] listing $50 million in liabilities to its primary creditor Fifth Third Bank and $2 million each to two other banks. In November 2011 the firm was auctioned off for $61.6 million to a group including private equity firms Victory Park, Origin Capital, and Atria Group, and George and Bill Apostolou (the sons of John and Eva Apostolou, who owned Giordano's prior to bankruptcy.)[6]
Giordano's, pre-bankruptcy, had 13 restaurants in Chicago and another 30 locations in the Chicago metropolitan area. The firm opened its first locations outside of Illinois in northern and central Florida in 2005. Early Florida locations were opened in Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee.[7] By October 2007, Giordano's had opened stores in Port Richey, Brandon, and Tampa.[8]