Volcano Pizzeria
| Volcano Pizzeria | |
|---|---|
 Interactive map of Volcano Pizzeria | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1957[1] |
| Closed | 1986[1][2] |
| Location | 157 Wyandotte Street West[3], Windsor, Canada |
| Coordinates | 42°18′48″N 83°02′18″W / 42.313403°N 83.038231°W |
Volcano Pizzeria,[4] also known as Volcano Restaurant,[2] was a pizzeria operating in Windsor, Ontario, from 1957 until it was sold to the Downtown Mission Centre in 1986.[1][2] It was one of Windsor's best-known pizzerias[5] and is the likely originator of Windsor-style pizza, with other pizzerias in Windsor having credited Volcano for their recipes.
History
[edit]The restaurant was founded in 1957 by cousins Frank Gualtieri and Gino Manza.[1] The Gualtieri family states the restaurant was named after the volcano Mount Vesuvius located near Naples, a known pizza city.[5] According to the Windsor Star, Manza originally learned how to cook in Boston, and modified the recipe he learned there for Volcano.[6] Gualteri's family states he learned how to make pizza dough from his cousin's pizzeria in Detroit.[5] They also noted Volcano was originally a diner serving Italian food but later became a pizzeria instead, either in 1957[7] or the early 1960s.[5] When it opened, the restaurant could seat up to 60 guests and was the first Italian restaurant in downtown Windsor.[1]
The restaurant was likely the first to use cornmeal in their crust, shred their pepperoni, and top their pizzas with canned mushrooms, which would become hallmarks of Windsor-style pizza.[8] They used canned mushrooms because they did not burn in their ovens and shredded pepperoni as it was easier to top.[5] As a result, Volcano has been called the "granddaddy" of the style, and most other pizzerias in Windsor can trace their recipes to the original Volcano recipe, with some confirming it.[5][6][8] Volcano was the first pizzeria in Windsor offering delivery by a fleet of Jeeps and Volkswagen Beetles.[8] The restaurant expanded in the early 1960s with new four-deck pizza ovens and an expanded seat capacity for 400 guests.[1][5]
In 1985, a Windsor Star article noted that business at Volcano had declined in recent years.[6] Gino Manza sold the location to the Downtown Mission Centre in 1986, permanently closing the restaurant.[1][2] In 2016, a Gualtieri family member shared the original recipe in a CBC article.[5]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Windsor Public Library; Windsor's Community Museum; Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County; Italian Community Committee; Windsor Mosaic Group. "Volcano Restaurant and Pizzeria". Windsor Mosaic. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Burnside, Scott (May 16, 1986). "Mission Takes Over New Home". Windsor Star. p. A5.
- ↑ "Season's Greetings". Windsor Star. December 24, 1985. p. C4.
- ↑ "Re-Opening Tuesday, August 27". Windsor Star. August 24, 1963. p. 15.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pinto, Jonathan (June 10, 2016). "Volcano Pizzeria: A look into one of Windsor's most famous pizza palaces". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Doelen, Chris Vander (April 6, 1985). "Pizza". The Saturday Windsor Star. p. E4.
- ↑ Windsor Public Library. "History of "Windsor Style'" Pizza". Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Kalivas, George (25 December 2024). "The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of". YouTube. CBC Docs. Retrieved June 25, 2025.