Ken Selby
Ken Selby | |
|---|---|
 Selby, c. 1977 | |
| Born | John Kenneth Selby May 12, 1936 |
| Died | May 12, 2012 (aged 76) |
| Education | Northeastern State University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1961–2012 |
| Known for | Founder of Mazzio's |
| Spouse | Debra Selby |
| Children | 5 |
John Kenneth Selby (May 12, 1936 – May 12, 2012) was an American restaurateur and educator who founded the Mazzio's chain of restaurants. Selby started out as a junior high science teacher before pursuing his business interests.
Early life
[edit]Selby was born on May 12, 1936, in Milburn, Oklahoma,[1] to "Depression-era parents".[2] His mother was a schoolteacher while his father worked in an oil field.[1] Selby attended the school his mother taught at, which at the time was a "two teacher" school where Selby's mother taught grades 1 through 12.[1]
His family moved to Durant when he was 13. During this time he worked in a country store as a meat market trainee before attaining status as an assistant butcher.[1] His family would later move to Sapulpa and Selby would graduate from Sapulpa High School.[3][4]
Selby attended Northeastern State University where he graduated with a Chemistry degree[5] in 1958.[4] During his time at NSU he was on an athletic scholarship, but "bombed" as an athlete.[1] He also pursued graduate studies at the University of Tulsa in 1960 and 1961.[4]
Selby's first exposure to pizza was during his time in college. He worked two summer jobs in Chicago with a friend to afford his education. He had his first bite of pizza at a Chicago drug store in 1956, immediately falling in love with the taste.[1]
Career
[edit]Teaching
[edit]After graduating from Northeastern State, Selby began working as a science teacher. Selby taught in Granby immediately after graduating[1] before relocating to Tulsa to teach at Lowell Junior High School and Monroe Junior High.[3]
Pizza Parlor and Ken's Pizza
[edit]While teaching,[3] Selby began working at a Pizza Hut over the summer after a friend encouraged him. He quickly rose to a manager position and stayed in that role for over a year and a half. It was while working at Pizza Hut that Selby got the idea to open a restaurant of his own.[1]
On November 1, 1961,[1] Selby opened the "Pizza Parlor," what would become the predecessor of Mazzio's.[6] It was located across the street from the University of Tulsa campus[7][8] in an old vacuum sweeper shop.[1] His pizzas at the time were noted for their thin crust[4] and spicy sauce.[3][6] Selby supported himself by works as a teacher at Lowell Junior High throughout the day and cooking at his restaurant at night.[6][7]
The name of the restaurant changed to "Ken's Pizza" when Selby opened up a second location in Enid a few years later.[1][9] The opening of the second location went awry when the store's oven malfunctioned. Selby had to drive to Oklahoma City to purchase a new oven the next day.[1] By 1975, the business had expanded to 100 company and franchise locations.[4]
Mazzio's and other ventures
[edit]Towards the end of the 1970s, Selby began developing a casual dining concept expanding on his restaurant model at the time.[4] The concept was created in part to compete with the rise of Godfather's Pizza outlets.[1] This is what would turn into Mazzio's. The first Mazzio's location opened in 1979 to financial success.[4] The name came from "Maggio," the character Frank Sinatra plays in the movie From Here to Eternity. To settle copyright issues, the company settled on the name "Mazzio" instead.[6] By 1994 there were 230 different Mazzio's locations.[4]
Selby pursued other restaurant chains outside of Mazzio's. In 1984, Selby created "Scooter's Pizza," a pizza place specializing in delivery.[1] Later in the 1990s Selby wanted to expand into the casual Italian dining market. In 1994, he opened up Zio's Italian Kitchen in south Tulsa.[4] Mazzio's LLC also owned Oliveto Italian Bistro, which first opened in August 2008.[10]
Personal life and death
[edit]In 2009, Selby walked from Oklahoma City to Tulsa along Route 66 at the age of 73. His destination in Tulsa was the site of the original Ken's Pizza location.[8]
Selby served on various boards throughout Tulsa, including the Indian Nations Boy Scouts of America,[5] Hillcrest Medical Center foundation, and the Salvation Army advisory board.[3] Selby was also an advocate for smoke-free restaurants. Both Mazzio's and Zio's Italian Kitchen banned smoking in 2002,[11] and Selby advocated for a bill in 2010 in the State legislature that would make all restaurants across Oklahoma smoke-free.[12]
Selby died on May 12, 2012, his 76th birthday, after complications associated with lung cancer.[9][2] Selby had been married to Debra (Debbie) Selby, and had five children[5] and seven grandchildren.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Turk, Randall (December 1, 1985). "Small-Town Oklahoman Builds Pizza Empire". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- 1 2 "Founder of Mazzios, Ken's Pizza Chains Ken Selby Dies". Retrieved October 21, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ken Selby". Ninde Funeral & Cremations. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Century Club: Ken Selby". Journal Record. December 3, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Ken Selby". The Oklahoman. October 22, 2000. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 Zemel, Jane (October 20, 2011). "A slice of life". TulsaPeople. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- 1 2 "Tulsa Pizza Pioneer is Dead". Public Radio Tulsa. May 14, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- 1 2 "Mazzio's Founder Walks From OKC To Tulsa". NewsOn6. June 19, 2009. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- 1 2 "Mazzio's Pizza Founder Ken Selby Dies". NewsOn6. May 14, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Oliveto Italian Bistro opens in Moore". Journal Record. June 25, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ Killackey, Jim (March 13, 2002). "Mazzio's, Zio's Italian Kitchens ban smoking at state locations Legislature's 'shameful record' among news conference topics". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
- ↑ Bisbee, Julie (February 23, 2019). "Mazzio's owner brings support for smoke-free restaurants bill in Oklahoma". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 23, 2025.