LONDON, Ont. — Sam Panopoulos, the Canadian restaurateur credited with inventing the Hawaiian pizza, passed away on June 8, 2017, at age 83.
The Greece-born Canadian immigrated to Canada in 1954 and went on to operate several restaurants with brothers Elias and Nikitas.
CBC News reports that Panopoulos created the Hawaiian pizza — featuring ham, bacon and pineapple — in 1962, at the brothers’ Satellite restaurant in Chatham, Ont. The creation has since become a staple on pizza menus around the world.
