Family tradition on display behind the counter and on your plate: The team at Sammy’s Pizza brings decades of experience and love to their food. Try the homemade sausage and you’ll taste the difference.
Nick Perrella, CPO (Chief Pizza Officer)/Owner of Sammy’s Pizza & Restaurant
What brought you to this profession and what do you enjoy most about it?
“Third Generation Family. I’d come here and make pizzas when I was 12 years old. When I was 15 or 16, I started actually working–cleaning, unloading trucks, everything. I enjoy serving our customers and the interaction with them.”
What is the inspiration behind the menu at your restaurant?
“Tradition and history making pizza for 66 yrs and proudly not changing one thing, still everything from scratch daily. Taking great pride in everything we make.”
What is a customer favorite on your menu and why?
“The pizza and pasta. Pizza’s foundation is the sauce, dough, sausage, and then baking it in brick ovens. Customer favorite is the crew special pizza (sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and green peppers) and our spaghetti and homemade sauce and meatballs.”
What is YOUR favorite item on the menu and why?
“Many kinds of different pizza or just a couple meatballs in our homemade sauce. If I had to pick one pizza, it’d be the house special with pepperoni, sausage, salami, mushrooms, onions, green pepper, cheese and more sausage on top.”
What is your favorite food or drink from another area establishment and why?
“Anything at Bloedow Bakery and the Diet Root Beer from Lakeview Drive Inn.”
What is one thing about this restaurant that people who have never been here should know?
“Everything we do is family based and steeped in tradition and history. Our extended family has 15 Sammy’s Pizza locations across 3 states, all cousins and uncles and we all make things from scratch daily like our fathers taught us to do. We take great pride and love in everything we make like we were making this delicious Italian food for our own family. Our business motto is family, friends, and traditions, and we live by that daily.”
We love our recipes homegrown and our flavors unique. Visit Winona is showcasing a regional restaurant/foodie attraction – new, classic, and everything in between – through the lens of one of its key team members. This new series, “Winona Eats,” celebrates all the culinary adventures that await you right here in the Winona area.
Bon Appetit!