Food & Beverage

At 90, Southwest Ohio pizza giant passes on some pizza wisdom

The founder of the Midwest regional pizza chain, LaRosa's, celebrated turning 90 in a very modern way — a virtual press conference.

Photo: Frame isolated from provided video.

August 26, 2020

Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrated one of its favorite sons and certainly a fixture of the pizza industry Tuesday, when the founder of the regional Midwest LaRosa's Pizza chain, Buddy LaRosa, turned 90. In fact, LaRosa showed his digital savviness by being the guest of honor at his own birthday virtual press conference.

LaRosa has been self-isolating since mid-March in Cincinnati, as older adults are often advised to do during the pandemic, but this was one 90-year-old pizza entrepreneur who was clearly not letting anything interfere with this 90th.
In fact, LaRosa — who has long been a youth and community advocate — used the occasion to announce the formation of The LaRosa Family Foundation.

The chain that LaRosa — the son of a Sicilian immigrant — launched with a single store in 1954, has 65 pizzerias and sales in excess of $167 million. On Buddy's Tuesday birthday, the LaRosa family — which still runs the chain — said it would provide the initial $90,000 contribution to jumpstart the foundation, which will support programs for youngsters' development through education, athletics and life skills learning.

Buddy LaRosa founded another organization in 1975, called Cincinnati Golden Gloves for Youth, to help local inner-city youth develop life skills.

Watch this clip of the virtual press conference to hear Buddy's advice to those struggling to make it in the industry.

LaRosa's stores currently dot the landscape across the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region.