Paisans is an Italian word for friends, but to us, it also means family. Family has always been at the center of Paisans’ beginning and the driving force behind its success. Paisans Pizza was started by Luigi, an immigrant to the United States, in 1985. In a small corner store in Cicero, Illinois, Luigi started making pizzas out of a household kitchen oven. Shortly after, Luigi was joined by his son Pete, fulfilling orders one at a time using hand-written tickets hanging from clothespins in their tiny kitchen.