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Here's a little history
of our journey.

In 1992, Joe and Tim Scarnato owned and operated their first carry-out and delivery pizzeria in the northern suburbs of Chicago. After opening three more stores over the course of a decade, the brothers decided to open their first full-service restaurant with Buddyz A Chicago Pizzeria. In addition to their pizza, they brought more family recipes to the menu including the homemade Beef Sandwich.

In 2013, It was time to expand once again. Joe took Buddyz where many Chicagoans migrated: Arizona.  

In 2017, after his brother Tim and son Tarin joined him in Arizona, they opened their third location in the Phoenix neighborhood of Ahwatukee. Despite the “big three” Chicago pizza staples in Lou Malnati’s, Gino’s East, and Giordano’s joining them out in the desert, Buddyz found their own path to success.

Since 2016, Buddyz has been named Best Deep Dish, Top 14 Pizza Places, and Top 15 Must Try Restaurants in the metro Phoenix area. Just recently, they were also named one of the Top 100 restaurants in the Phoenix area.

Fall 2020 brought more expansion to the Phoenix market with the opening of the final Buddyz in San Tan Valley. Shortly after the opening of this store the Scarnato Family decided to expand again, but in a different way.

Thus began Vero Chicago Pizza, a franchise company created by the Scarnatos. With a fresh rebrand and a team of two generations of Scarnatos at the helm, Vero Chicago Pizza began its journey with four locations in the East Valley in 2021.

In 2023 Vero was voted the Best Deep Dish Pizza in Phoenix by the New Phoenix Times® and Chosen as the Best Chicago Pizza place in all of Arizona by the Washington Post®. Amidst these accolades Vero also grew to six locations throughout the East Valley including their first corporate location which includes training facilities for the franchise.

2024 has brought more growth and recognition for Vero, in March we were ranked 3rd best Chicago Style Pizza place by Yelp across the entire country. We also our first Take Out & Delivery location in Maricopa, AZ.

Click Here to View and Expand Our History Timeline

FAQs

Vero o falso? Are we Buddyz A Chicago Pizzeria?
True! And False!  We are the founders and original family behind Buddyz A Chicago Pizzeria and Pizza Italia restaurant concepts. However, as of 2021 all remaining Buddyz locations, who are still operating under the name Buddyz, are not affiliated with the Scarnato Family and Vero Chicago Pizza.
Why the name change?
The Scarnato family made the decision to grow and evolve their pizzeria concept into a franchise. As there was a trademark issue with a long standing Detroit Pizzeria, the Scarnatos chose to rebrand to Vero Chicago Pizzeria.
Are the recipes staying the same?
The Scarnato recipes that you have come to know and love over the past 30 years are never changing. Our food is the driving force of our success,  and we are constantly developing new exciting offerings whilst staying true to our roots.

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