About Pagliai's
Since 1967
Family Recipes
Always Fresh
Pagliai's Pizza: 50 Years Plus In BG
Celebrating 54 Years of Great Food in 2021
Pagliai's has a rich history. In the 1960s, the pizza pie was not yet a staple of the American diet that it is today. The young menu item was considered by many to be merely an exotic "snack food" back then, a culinary afterthought enjoyed in the few parlors, pubs and pizza houses that had begun to materialize across the nation after World War II.
The pizza business was hardly the multibillion-dollar industry that it is today.
Humble Beginnings
This is where our story begins, in 1967, with a 19-year-old Missouri-born pizza maker named George Nicholson. George had spent his early years mastering his trade under the tutelage of the Pagliai brothers, Salvatori, Armond and Haldo, who had built a chain of pizzerias that stretched across Missouri, Iowa and Illinois.
One day, after having passed through a college town in Northwest Ohio called Bowling Green, Salvatori thought, rightfully so, that this town would be an ideal location for the first Pagliai's Pizza in Ohio. Today, it's the only city in the United States with two Pagliai's.
When George was given the opportunity to relocate from their location in Iowa City to Bowling Green to open up the pizza house, he jumped at it.
Hard Work and Great Homemade Food
Pagliai's opened for business at 1004 South Main in 1967, across the street from the present location, with George and a handful of employees under him.
Cheese pizzas for 90 cents and bottles of pop for a dime caught on ... in a big way. In 1969, hot subs and the first salad bar in town were added. In 1976, having outgrown its original location, the business moved across the street to its current location at 945 South Main.
In 1978, a second pizzeria was established at 440 East Court St. and named Campus Pollyeyes. The name changed to a more phonetic spelling to avoid confusion.
Still Serving the Best Pizza Around
Both Pagliai's and Campus Pollyeyes remain today, having evolved from the modest pizza houses they once were to the full-service Italian restaurants they are today.
From four pizza houses in the 1960s to the town having over 35 parlors in the 1980s, Bowling Green has been immortalized in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most pizza eateries per capita in the 1980s.
Through it all, we have been there to serve our loyal customers and we hope to be here to serve you for many more wonderful years.
Ready to Accommodate Large Groups
We try our best to accommodate your request for meals prepared a special way. Parties of eight or more cannot split bills and a 15% gratuity will be added.
Please contact the manager for information on prices for large groups, catering, and special events. We accept personal checks. Call (419) 352-7571
or visit us at 945 S Main St.
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