Lombardo’s is a long-standing, family-owned pizza tradition in West Michigan, with roots stretching back to the early 1950’s when the family’s patriarch came from Sicily and opened a pizza shop in NYC. He worked tirelessly to send money back to Sicily until his 3 sons could come to America. They then each opened their own pizza shops. One of the sons, Giuseppe “Joe” Lombardo, connected with two business partners who sold supplies like cheese and pepperoni and helped them when they opened their own pizza shop in 1960, Pizza King on 44th Street in Grand Rapids, MI. Eventually Joe bought Pizza King from his partners in 1974, renaming it “Joe’s Pizza King” and introducing the family sauce recipe. Today that location is still owned and operated by his son, Jim Sr.

When a number of Joe’s family members emigrated from Sicily after him, including his brother Gino, more pizzerias were soon under way.

The family now oversees several pizzerias under various names in West Michigan. Among these, John owns Johnny’s Pizza King on Division Ave, Nick owns two outposts of Lombardo’s Pizza in Wyoming and Jenison, Jim Jr. has three Lombardo Sicilian Pizza locations (Norton Shores, North Muskegon, and Grand Haven), and Gino’s sons expanded to multiple family locations as well.

Jim Sr. maintains a superhuman work ethic; Joe’s still stays open until the wee hours of the morning on weekends. “I think the older generations don’t know anything but work, and it gives them a sense of purpose,” Jim Jr. says. “No one retires in my family.”