Boston History Lesson: Papa Gino’s originated in East Boston

Did you know one of New England’s most popular pizza chains actually originated here in Boston? Papa Gino’s, originally a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria known as Piece O’Pizza, was founded in 1954 in East Boston by Italian immigrant Michael Valerio.

A Korean War veteran, Valerio was born in 1930 in the small Italian town of Villa Latina and emigrated to Eastie at age five. Once he returned from war, he used his service earnings to start the Papa Gino’s franchise. Due to its limited capacity, the original store served only pizza, grilled sandwiches, and ice cream through a takeout window on Bennington Street.

Workers from the original Papa Gino’s restaurant

The business grew quickly from its original iteration, and Valerio and his wife Helen soon opened stores across the Boston area, from Canton to Cambridge. By the eighties, Papa Gino’s spread to shopping malls in New England, New York, and Florida, employing over 7,000 people across 300+ stores at the height of its success.

Unfortunately, the economic difficulties of the early nineties took a toll on the company, forcing Valerio to sell the chain to a group of investors in 1991. By 1996, over 100 shops had closed, and the franchise changed hands twice more. Papa Gino’s continued to struggle throughout the 2000s— even as it made brand deals with the Red Sox and the Patriots—and finally filed for bankruptcy in 2018.

Acquired by Wynnchurch Capital days later, the chain swiftly emerged from bankruptcy and began opening restaurants once again in June 2022. Today, 79 Papa Gino’s locations still exist across New England.

Valerio, meanwhile, passed away in his home at 89 in September 2020, survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Main image – Mike & Helen Valerio, original founders of Papa Gino’s 1961