Filippi's Pizza Grotto

What Filippi's Pizza Grotto does

Filippi's Pizza Grotto is a family-owned Italian restaurant chain founded by Vincent DePhilippis and Madeleine Manfredi in 1950, building on the original Cash & Carry Italian Foods market the couple opened on India Street in San Diego's Little Italy in 1947. The DePhilippis family has operated the business continuously for 75+ years, serving traditional Italian-American cuisine including pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, macaroni, sandwiches, and Antipasto Salad. The chain operates 17 brick-and-mortar locations across California, with 11 in San Diego County (Little Italy, Chula Vista, Kearny Mesa, Pacific Beach, Escondido, Poway, Mission Valley, Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Imperial Beach) and 6 additional sites in Temecula, Jamul, Santee, Napa, Norco, and West Covina, plus the original Italian Market (Cash & Carry) on India Street.

The business operates four distinct revenue streams: dine-in restaurant service, take-out and delivery (including third-party via DoorDash), catering (offered at Scripps Ranch, Pacific Beach, Little Italy, and Norco), and retail Italian grocery sales at the Italian Market. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through physical locations, with customer acquisition driven primarily by local SEO targeting queries such as 'pizza near me' and 'italian food near me'. The technology stack is a fragmented mix of third-party SaaS — Skytab, ToastTab, Smart Online Order, and Foodbooking for online ordering and POS, plus DoorDash for third-party delivery — with no proprietary platform or mobile app. Pricing is unit-based (per menu item) with pay-as-you-go billing; menu prices are not publicly disclosed in aggregate.

The customer base is horizontal, targeting general consumers and families seeking authentic Italian-American food in a family restaurant setting, with no enterprise or B2B concentration. Recent product/menu additions include a gluten-free menu (evidenced at the Napa location as of August 2025). The company is privately held with no external funding, no parent organization, and no public ticker; operating geographies are limited to California.

Name

Filippi's Pizza Grotto

Legal name

Filippi's Pizza Grotto

Website

https://realcheesepizza.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Filippi's Pizza Grotto is a family-owned Italian restaurant chain operating 17 California locations (founded 1950, 75+ years under DePhilippis family) serving traditional pizza, pasta, and Italian dishes via dine-in, take-out, catering, and an Italian Market, with consumer-facing customers and no external investment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Italian Restaurant Services

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Grocery Stores (5411)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC), Mediterranean/Greek/Italian/Spanish Grocery Stores (CRAHAFAJ), Pizza, Wings & Oven-Baked Prepared Foods (In-Store Concepts) (CRAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Italian restaurant dining
• Pizza and pasta
• Family restaurant chain
• Italian grocery market
• Catering services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Traditional sit-down Italian restaurant service offering pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and Italian market goods consumed on-premises.
2. Take-Out and Delivery: Customers order food for off-premises consumption via phone, in-person, or online ordering portals. Third-party delivery through DoorDash available at some locations.
3. Catering: Catering menus offered at multiple locations (Scripps Ranch, Pacific Beach, Little Italy, Norco) for events and private gatherings.
4. Italian Market / Cash & Carry: Italian grocery and specialty food market retail sales at the Italian Market location on India Street in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Filippi's Pizza Grotto operates a multi-location family-owned Italian restaurant chain in California serving traditional pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, macaroni, sandwiches, and Antipasto Salad through dine-in, take-out, and catering. The company also operates an Italian grocery market (Cash & Carry) at its original India Street location in San Diego, selling Italian specialty food products for retail.

Product overview

Filippi's Pizza Grotto is a family-owned chain of traditional Italian restaurants operating across California. The core offering is their restaurant dining experience serving pizza and classic Italian dishes such as spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, macaroni, sandwiches, and antipasto salad. The company also operates an Italian Market (Filippi's Italian Market) for retail Italian food products, and offers online ordering capabilities through third-party platforms, catering services, and gluten-free menu options at select locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Filippi's Pizza Grotto Restaurants Family-owned Italian restaurant chain serving traditional pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and Italian dishes for dine-in, take-out, and delivery across 16+ California locations.
• Filippi's Italian Market (Cash & Carry) Italian specialty grocery market located at the original India Street location in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood, offering Italian food products for retail cash-and-carry purchase.
• Catering Services Catering menus and services offered at multiple Filippi's locations including Scripps Ranch, Pacific Beach, Little Italy, and Norco for private events, parties, and large gatherings.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• DoorDashminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDoorDash is used as a third-party food delivery platform at the Temecula Filippi's Pizza Grotto location, enabling customers to order for delivery through the DoorDash app.
• FoodbookingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFoodbooking is used as an online ordering platform at the Jamul Filippi's Pizza Grotto location.
• SkytabcoreTechnology or IntegrationSkytab provides online ordering and point-of-sale technology used across multiple Filippi's Pizza Grotto locations including Scripps Ranch, Pacific Beach, Chula Vista, Santee, and Norco. Each location has a dedicated Skytab ordering URL.
• ToastTabcoreTechnology or IntegrationToastTab provides online ordering and point-of-sale technology used at the Mission Valley and Kearny Mesa Filippi's Pizza Grotto locations.

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pizza Hut: Pizza Hut is a national pizza chain offering dine-in, takeout, and delivery with broad menu variety. It competes directly with Filippi's in the casual pizza category, though it operates at a much larger scale and different price point.
• Domino's Pizza: Domino's is the largest pizza chain in the US by global retail sales, focused primarily on delivery and carryout. It is a direct competitor in the pizza category with a stronger digital/delivery model than Filippi's.
• Round Table Pizza: Round Table Pizza is a California-based pizza chain with a similar family-casual positioning. It is one of the closest direct competitors given overlapping California geography and premium pizza positioning.
• Mountain Mike's Pizza: Mountain Mike's is a California-based family pizza chain with locations across the Western US. Its family-friendly casual dining model and Northern California roots closely parallel Filippi's positioning.
• Shakey's Pizza: Shakey's is a legacy pizza chain with strong California presence and casual family dining positioning. Comparable to Filippi's in heritage and family-dining focus, with overlapping California geography.
• Bertucci's: Bertucci's is an Italian-casual pizza chain focused on brick-oven pizza and pasta. It is a direct competitor in the Italian pizza casual dining category, similar in authentic-Italian positioning and menu mix to Filippi's.

Broad incumbents

• Olive Garden: Olive Garden is a national Italian-casual dining chain owned by Darden Restaurants. It overlaps with Filippi's on Italian family-casual dining occasions but operates at much larger scale with broader menu and full bar service.
• California Pizza Kitchen (CPK): CPK is a California-based casual dining chain specializing in pizza and creative American cuisine. It overlaps with Filippi's on premium pizza and California casual dining, though it operates at a different price point and broader menu.
• BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse: BJ's is a casual dining chain with deep California roots offering pizza, pasta, and beer. It competes with Filippi's for family casual dining occasions in California with broader menu and full bar offerings.

Emerging players

• True Food Kitchen: True Food Kitchen is a healthier-focused casual dining chain. While not a direct pizza competitor, it competes for the same health-conscious California casual dining occasions, particularly relevant given Filippi's recent gluten-free menu initiative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/filippislittleitaly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Filippi's Pizza Grotto