Local Pizza Restaurants

Cassano’s restaurant at Main St and Fairview Ave, 1988

October is National Pizza Month, so we thought it would be fun to highlight some local Dayton-based pizzerias.

One of Dayton’s longest-running local pizza franchises is Cassano’s Pizza King restaurants.  Vic Cassano, Sr., and his mother-in-law Caroline “Mom” Donisi started the business in 1953. Mr. Cassano first sold his pizzas from a room adjoining his grocery store on Schantz Avenue in Kettering. Vic Cassano, Sr., died in 2002.

Marion’s Piazza, another long-running local pizza chain, was founded in 1965 by Marion Glass. The first Marion’s Piazza was located at 460 Patterson Road. Glass died in 2006.

Cousin Vinny’s Pizza, established about 2002, is a much more recent addition to Dayton’s local pizza fare.

These photos of Cassano’s restaurants, a fixture in Dayton for 60 years, from our Dayton Daily News Archive may bring back some memories:

These photos can be found in the Wright State University Special Collections & Archives:

• Dayton Daily News Archive, Box 154, JHAN 37h: “Cassano’s Pizza & Seafood.”
• Dayton Daily News Archive, Box 1183, “Cassano, Vic- Restaurant Owner.”