Grotto Pizza is a chain of restaurants that sell pizza and other Italian-American dishes, primarily located in the U.S. state of Delaware with a few locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The chain originated in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1960, and has since expanded across the state of Delaware. Over the past few decades, it has become a regional pizza icon with a loyal following from both locals and tourists.
Cheese pizza from Grotto Pizza, with the swirl of sauce on top of the cheese
Grotto Pizza was founded in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1960 by Dominick Pulieri and his brother-in-law Joseph Paglianite and his sister Mary Jean Paglianite.[1] Pulieri was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from King's College with a degree in Biology. While living in Pennsylvania, he worked at his brother-in-law's pizza place, Joe's Pizza, in Harveys Lake.[4] The first Grotto Pizza location was a take-out stand located along Rehoboth Avenue.[4] In order to attract customers, Pulieri and his sister gave out free samples, and eventually the restaurant attracted both local Sussex County residents and tourists as regular customers.[4]
Grotto Pizza opened a second location in Rehoboth Beach on the boardwalk in 1963, and the Rehoboth Avenue restaurant moved to a larger location in 1967. The restaurant was originally a seasonal business only open during the summer months but became year-round in 1974. Grotto Pizza has grown to include locations throughout the state of Delaware along with a few locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania.[4] Grotto Pizza has become a cultural icon in Delaware, particularly at the beach.[1] In 2015, Grotto Pizza was inducted into the Pizza Hall of Fame.[5]
In 2015, Grotto Pizza opened a restaurant in Gambrills, Maryland (now closed). This marked the beginning of a plan to expand into the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, where a lot of the summertime customers at the locations at the Delaware and Maryland beaches come from.[6] A location in Columbia, Maryland opened in 2016.[7]
In 2021, Grotto Pizza opened a production kitchen site in Dover, Delaware that centralizes dough production and handles dry storage and food distribution.[8]
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