Pizza Nova Take Out Ltd., doing business as Pizza Nova, is a Canadian franchise chain of pizza restaurants headquartered in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. The chain was founded on 12 May 1963 by a young family of Italian immigrants. The first restaurant was located in the eastern

suburb of Scarborough,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

on Kennedy Road near Lawrence Avenue, which currently operates under the name Nova Ristorante. There are more than 140 locations in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Pizza Nova's competitors include:

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza Ltd. is a franchised Canadian pizza quick-service restaurant with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Its restaurants are mainly in the province of Ontario while others are located in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and west ...

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

, 241 Pizza,

Little Caesars Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multi-national pizza chain. Based on 2020 statistics, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and ...

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

, Mamma's Pizza and other regional pizza chains. The Pizza Nova location in

Varadero, Cuba Varadero (), also referred to as ''Playa Azul'' (Blue Beach), is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero Beach was rated one of the world's best beaches in TripAdvisor's Trav ...

is not related, but uses a similar logo formerly used by the Canadian company.

History

The chain was founded by a young family of Italian immigrants—consisting of Sam Primucci, and his brothers Mike, Vince, and Joe—originating from Basilicata,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Their first location opened on 12 May 1963 at the corner of Lawrence Avenue East, just west of Kennedy Road. Following many years of success in both their delivery and walk-in services, the restaurant opened their first franchised store in 1969. Upon celebrating the company's 50th anniversary, the pizza chain also announced their partnership with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and the Rogers Centre as their official pizza supplier, starting in January 2014, and continuing for a three-year agreement.

Jingle

In October 1987, jingle writer Syd Kessler, advertising agency Montana Steele, and Pizza Nova President Sam Primucci produced an advertisement featuring the singing of the phone number and vocalising the quadruple zero as "4-3-9, Oh-Oh Oh-Oh Pizza Nova!" Sung by Canadian musician

Zappacosta Alfredo Peter "Alfie" Zappacosta (born July 5, 1953), also known by just his surname, is an Italian-born Canadian musician. Career Zappacosta's first band was Surrender, a five-piece group that recorded three albums in the late 1970s and earl ...

, edits of the original can still be heard on Ontario radio and TV today, with new voiceover by company President Domenic Primucci, son of founder Sam Primucci.

Products

Some of Pizza Nova's signature products include:

Signature pizzas

*Banquet Cheddar *Calabrese *Deluxe *Napoletana *Primavera *Pizza Pollo *Porco Pazzo *Roasted Parma *Meat Supreme *Pepperoni *The All-Star *Quattro Stagioni *Mediterranean *Portabellissimo *Super Gourmet *Super Hawaiian *Veggie *Cheddar Supreme

Pesto pizzas

*Chicken Florentine *Tuscan Pesto

White pizzas

*Bruschetta Pizza *Basilcata *California *Chicken Alla Bianca *Greek Bruschetta *Il Giardino *Porchetta and Hot Peppers *Spicy Porchetta *Nonna's favorite The beverages that Pizza Nova sells are Coca-Cola products. Pizza Nova has also become a go-to chain for vegans as it offers dairy-free cheese, and as of 2021, plant based pepperoni.

References

External links

Official website
{{Pizza chains Pizza chains of Canada Regional restaurant chains in Canada Companies based in Scarborough, Toronto Restaurants in Toronto