Pizza Nova Celebrates 60th Anniversary

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60th anniversary Pizza Nova

TORONTO — Pizza Nova celebrated its 60th anniversary with nearly 500 friends, family, franchisees and partners. Held outdoors at the new support office in Scarborough, Ont., just four kilometres away from the chain’s first location, the event included bocce ball, photo booths, speeches and a live performance from Alfie Zappacosta singing the iconic 439 jingle originally recorded in 1987.

Over the last 60 years, the company has expanded to more than 150 locations and a network of staff that exceeds 2,000 people across southern and southwestern Ontario and has donated approximately $3.5 million to various communities and long-standing charitable partners, such as Variety, The Children’s Charity of Ontario. The annual That’s Amore Pizza for Kids Dip’n Give campaign also returns this May where 50 cents from every dip sold is donated to help the kids at Variety, Ontario.

To commemorate the occasion, and honour the Scarborough community, the company surprised guests with the announcement of a $1-million donation to Scarborough Health Network (SHN) Foundation. The funding will help create Toronto’s most innovative diagnostic imaging department at its general hospital.

President of Pizza Nova, Domenic Primucci, who grew up in Scarborough, is an active volunteer and long-time supporter of the Love Scarborough campaign, whose mission is to close the healthcare funding gap and provide Scarborough residents with equal access to optimal healthcare. With only one per cent of hospital donations reaching the Scarborough network of hospitals, the support from the Primucci family will go a long way, giving the diverse Scarborough community the medical facilities its residents deserve.

“It’s a proud and emotional day for me to be able to celebrate this incredible milestone with so many members of our extended Pizza Nova family,” says Sam Primucci, who co-founded Pizza Nova in 1963 with his brothers. “We could not have enjoyed such success and longevity without the support of employees, franchisees, partners, and members of our communities, who have believed in our mission of sharing our beloved recipes and traditions and giving back to the communities in which we work, live and thrive.”

“We are tremendously grateful to Pizza Nova and the Primucci family for their support. As a Scarborough-born business, it is inspiring to welcome a $1-million donation from Pizza Nova that will improve diagnostic imaging at our general hospital and support the Scarborough community,” says Alicia Vandermeer, president and CEO of SHN Foundation. “We are honoured that Pizza Nova has chosen to celebrate its 60th anniversary in such a thoughtful and meaningful way.”

“This has been the journey of a lifetime,” says Domenic Primucci. “When we opened our first location at 2272 Lawrence Avenue East in Scarborough, we could never have imagined the journey would take us this far. Today, not only do we stand by our promise of providing traditional, quality food, we are privileged to be in the position to give back to the special community we have called home for over 60 years. I’m so proud.”

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