Rosati's Pizza
Rosati's Pizza is a privately held, family-owned U.S. restaurant chain founded in 1964, operating and franchising authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian-American restaurants across more than 300 locations nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1964
- HeadquartersWarrenville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Rosati's Pizza does
Rosati's Pizza is a privately held, family-owned restaurant chain specializing in authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian-American fare. Founded in 1964 by the Rosati brothers in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, the brand traces its culinary lineage to Ferdinand Rosati's 1895 Italian restaurant on Coney Island and now operates into a fourth generation of family ownership. The chain serves individual consumers through dine-in, pickup, and delivery channels, alongside tiered event catering packages scaled to groups of 16–70 and a co-branded fundraising program for schools, sports teams, and nonprofits.
The product portfolio is anchored by customizable and pre-designed specialty pizzas—offered across multiple crust styles including tavern thin, double dough, Chicago deep dish, and stuffed—and extends to appetizers, salads, Italian-style sandwiches, pastas, and desserts. Operational technology consists of an in-house digital ordering stack with native iOS and Android mobile applications (built under a 'foodtec' mobile package), a store-locator-enabled e-commerce site with location-specific menus, a points-based Rosati's Rewards loyalty program (1 point per $1 spent; $10 reward every 150 points), and the Rosati's U franchisee training curriculum that combines five weeks of paid basic training with two years of management coursework.
Rosati's generates revenue through three streams: direct restaurant food sales across its franchised network, franchise fees and royalties from unit expansion, and catered event transactions. The chain reaches customers predominantly through a regional U.S. franchise network and first-party digital channels; menu pricing is location-set and broadly transactional, with a modest take-rate loyalty rebate. Catering and fundraising programs extend addressable use cases without requiring incremental physical infrastructure, while the Rosati's U platform functions as a franchise pipeline converting trained operators into multi-unit owners.
Rosati's Pizza firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rosati's Pizza
- Legal name
- Rosati's Pizza
- Website
- https://rosatispizza.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1964
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rosati's Pizza is a privately held, family-owned U.S. restaurant chain founded in 1964, operating and franchising authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian-American restaurants across more than 300 locations nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rosati's Pizza industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pizza Restaurant Chain
- NAICS
- Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Caterers (722320), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Corporate Catering & Office Food Programs (HSACAGAC)
Keywords
Where Rosati's Pizza is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Warrenville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Rosati's Pizza business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Restaurant Food Sales: Direct sales of pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, wings, appetizers, and desserts through company-owned and franchised restaurant locations for dine-in, pickup, and delivery.
- Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchising Rosati's Pizza brand to franchisees who open and operate their own locations. The brand has grown to over 300 locations through franchising.
- Catering Services: Catering packages including Pizza Party Packages (serves 16-50 people), Buffet Style Party Packs (serves 16-70 people), and A La Carte options for events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Rewards Program - Earn $10 for every 150 points |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Rosati's Pizza product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rosati's Pizza operates a chain of company-owned and franchised restaurants serving authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian classics including pastas, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, and desserts for dine-in, pickup, and delivery. The brand has expanded to 300+ locations across the United States through franchising, complemented by catering packages, a mobile ordering app, a loyalty rewards program, and a fundraising program for schools and nonprofits.
Product overview
Rosati's Pizza is a restaurant chain offering authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian classics since 1964. The core product portfolio includes customizable and specialty pizzas (with crust varieties like Tavern Thin Crust, Double Dough, Chicago Deep Dish, Stuffed, Gluten Free, and Calzone), complemented by appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pastas, and desserts. Additional offerings include catering services, a loyalty rewards program, mobile ordering app, fundraising programs, franchise opportunities, and the Rosati's University training program. The company operates over 300 locations with a focus on family recipes, real ingredients (100% real Wisconsin mozzarella, never frozen dough, no added preservatives), and quality preparation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Rosati's U: A training program designed to get franchisees managing and owning their own restaurant quickly, with a 5-week paid basic training followed by 2-year coursework and management training.
Products and services
- Create Your Own Pizza Customizable pizza offering where customers select from multiple crust types (Tavern Thin Crust, Double Dough, Chicago Deep Dish, Stuffed, Gluten Free, Calzone), sizes, and toppings including meats, vegetables, and gourmet ingredients.
- Specialty Pizzas Pre-designed signature pizzas including Rosati's Monster, The Heavyweight, Meat Classic, Pepperoni Supreme, Sausage Supreme, S.O.B. BBQ Special, Hawaiian Luau, Margherita, Vegetarian Deluxe, Spinach Classic, White Pizza, and limited-time Cheef-Za.
- Appetizers Starters including Strombolini, Rick's Stix (garlic cheesy breadsticks), breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fried ravioli, chicken tenders, breaded mushrooms, and garlic bread, plus wings in various flavors.
- Salads Fresh salads including Italian Table (romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber, pepperoncini, croutons), Caesar, and Chopped salad with gorgonzola, pasta, chicken and bacon.
- Sandwiches Italian classics served on French bread including Rosati's Cheef (Italian beef, au jus, mozzarella), Italian Sausage, Meatball, Grilled Chicken, Italian Beef, Crosstown Classic, and Chicken Parm.
- Pastas Hearty pasta dishes including Chicken Parmigiana, Baked Lasagna, Fettuccine Alfredo, Cheese Ravioli, Penne Alla Rosati, and Mostaccioli Alforno.
- Desserts Sweet endings including Tiramisu, Cannoli, and Cinnamon Sticks.
- Catering Services Catering packages including Pizza Party Packages (serves 16-50), Buffet Style Party Packs (serves 16-70), and A La Carte Catering options for events, parties, corporate gatherings, and school functions.
- Fundraising Program Fundraising options including co-branded cards for ongoing support and fundraiser nights at Rosati's locations, with a portion of sales donated to participating organizations.
- Franchise Opportunities Franchise program for opening Rosati's Pizza restaurants, including technology and marketing support, with over 300 locations built on family recipes and streamlined operations.
Companies that use Rosati's Pizza
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rosati's Pizza technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Rosati's Pizza partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rosati's Pizza competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
Regional players
- Aurelio's Pizza: Family-owned Chicago-area thin crust and stuffed pizza chain with ~50 locations across IL, IN, FL, NV; comparable authentic Chicago-style brand story but smaller, more regionally concentrated footprint than Rosati's.
Direct peers
- Lou Malnati's: Family-owned Chicago deep dish pizzeria with regional and national shipping; directly competes on authentic Chicago-style pizza brand positioning and family heritage narrative that mirrors Rosati's.
- Jet's Pizza: Detroit-rooted pizza franchise specializing in deep dish and square pizzas with 400+ locations; highly comparable product positioning (signature deep dish, Detroit-style) and franchise-driven growth model to Rosati's Chicago-style focus.
- Marco's Pizza: Mid-sized pizza franchise chain with ~1,100+ locations and strong Midwest presence; directly comparable in business model (franchise-led), product mix (pizza-first with subs, wings, salads), and target customer (families, dine-in, pickup, delivery).
- Giordano's: Iconic Chicago deep dish pizzeria with multiple locations in IL, FL, AZ and beyond; the closest direct competitor on Chicago-style stuffed/deep dish pizza, with overlapping dine-in and catering positioning.
- Papa Murphy's: Take-and-bake pizza franchise with ~1,000+ locations; comparable franchise-led model and family-meal positioning, though differentiated by raw vs. cooked pizza format.
Broad incumbents
- Domino's Pizza: The dominant U.S. pizza chain with 20,000+ stores globally and industry-leading proprietary digital ordering and delivery logistics; competes head-to-head on delivery, app, and loyalty, but at a scale Rosati's cannot match.
- Papa John's: One of the largest pizza franchisors globally with ~6,000+ units; overlapping pizza franchise model, delivery focus, and loyalty program (Papa Rewards), but at vastly greater scale and with proprietary technology investments.
Emerging players
- Blaze Pizza: Fast-casual build-your-own pizza concept with ~300+ locations; competes on the fast-casual pizza occasion Rosati's targets, but with a younger, tech-forward positioning and different price point.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rosati's Pizza social profiles
Digital presenceRosati's Pizza financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rosati's Pizza leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Rosati's Pizza funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rosati's Pizza M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rosati's Pizza
What does Rosati's Pizza do?
Rosati's Pizza operates a chain of company-owned and franchised restaurants serving authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian classics including pastas, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, and desserts for dine-in, pickup, and delivery. The brand has expanded to 300+ locations across the United States through franchising, complemented by catering packages, a mobile ordering app, a loyalty rewards program, and a fundraising program for schools and nonprofits.
Is Rosati's Pizza a public or private company?
Rosati's Pizza is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Rosati's Pizza founded?
Rosati's Pizza was founded in 1964. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rosati's Pizza based?
Rosati's Pizza is headquartered in Warrenville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Rosati's Pizza make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Food Sales are the primary driver. The others are franchise Fees and catering Services.
Who are Rosati's Pizza's main competitors?
Pizza Hut is listed as an others. Aurelio's Pizza is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Lou Malnati's, Jet's Pizza, Marco's Pizza, Giordano's and Papa Murphy's. Broad incumbents are Domino's Pizza and Papa John's. Blaze Pizza is listed as an emerging player.
Does Rosati's Pizza have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rosati's Pizza.
What industry is Rosati's Pizza in?
Rosati's Pizza's product category is Pizza Restaurant Chain. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFABAB, Pizza Fast Casual, with a secondary code of HSACAGAC, Corporate Catering & Office Food Programs. Its NAICS code is 72251 and its SIC code is 5812.