Pizza is now sold in virtually every country of the world, and is arguably the most popular food in the world. Even in countries with no history of consuming Western food, pizza is instantly popular. In 2009, the first North Korean pizzeria was opened in Pyongyang. It was an immediate success.
The world’s first pizzeria opened in 1830 in Naples, Italy. It was called the Pizzeria Brandi and is still in business today. Raffaele Esposito invented the Margherita there in 1889, in honour of Margarita of Savoy the queen of Italy. It was made of mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce to reflect the colours of the Italian flag.
In the US, the first record of a pizzeria being opened was by Gennaro Lombardi in Little Italy, Manhattan in 1905. The premises were originally opened as an Italian grocer in 1897. Lombardi’s closed in 1984, but was re-opened by his Grandson just down the street in 1994.
In the UK pizza was not sold to the public until 1934 when Olivelli’s Restaurant, Store St, London, WC1 added pizza to their menu. None of the Italian restaurants that were already open in the UK had pizza on their menu at that time. Olivelli’s remained a restaurant, but changed hands several times over the years. In 1993, Giovanni Salamone renovated the premises and opened it as the first in the Pizza Paradiso Olivelli chain of restaurants.
The biggest chain of pizza restaurants in the world, Pizza Hut, did not begin trading until 1958. Frank and Dan Carney opened their first pizzeria in Wichita, Kansas; by 1972, they had 1,000 outlets. In 1973, they went international, opening restaurants in Canada, Japan & the UK. The first Pizza Hut in the UK opened in Islington, London.
