Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc. operates Italian-based Chicago-style restaurants in Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri which specialize in Chicago-style cuisine. They have operated since 1990, when they took over the popular Nancy's Pizza chain of pizzerias. Nancy's itself was started in 1974 by Nancy and Rocco Palese. CFS, Inc. operates as a franchisor for Nancy's Pizzerias and Doughocracy Pizza and Brews. CFS, Inc. launched Doughocracy Pizza + Brews in 2015, a fast casual pizza place that gives customers the "Freedom to Choose" their own toppings on a hand stretched pizza crust that can be paired with local craft beers. There is one Doughocracy restaurant, in Geneva, Illinois.
The first Nancy's Pizza restaurant was opened by Italian Americans Nancy (born Annunziata Scarano)[1] and her husband Rocco Palese in 1974. The Palese family opened and later sold multiple restaurants with different names between 1971 and 1973, before eventually settling on Nancy's Pizza on W. Lawrence Ave. A journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times claims Nancy's Pizza invented the Chicago-style stuffed pizza but this is disputed.[2]
Nancy and Rocco Palese, both hailing from Potenza, Basilicata, had lived most of their adult lives in Turin, before immigrating with their three children to the United States in 1969. After 18 months in Chicago, Nancy and Rocco opened their first pizza parlor, Guy's Pizza, featuring a popular thin crust pizza. In 1971 friends tried to get the Paleses to experiment with pan pizza. Rather than imitate others, Rocco decided to invent his own pizza, modeled after his family’s recipe for "scarciedda," an Easter specialty cake from his native region, Basilicata, and called his new invention Stuffed Pizza.[3]
In 1974, Rocco and Nancy opened the first Nancy's location in Harwood Heights, Illinois, which could seat only 35 people. Three years later, they opened the first location in Chicago. In 1990, the Palese family sold the name Nancy’s Pizza and all development rights to Dave Howey, the president of Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc., who had been a licensee of the Paleses since 1977. Today, there are 20 Nancy's locations in Illinois, as well as six locations in the Atlanta, Georgia, area, one location in O'Fallon, Missouri, and one location in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In 1938, Al Ferreri opened Al's #1 Italian Beef, a beef sandwich stand on the sidewalk of Harrison and Laflin streets in Chicago. The shop claims that Al's father, Tony Ferreri, invented the Italian beef sandwich to serve at weddings. However, the true origin of the sandwich is disputed.[4]
The beef stand gradually grew and moved to its present location at 1079 W. Taylor Street, still in Chicago’s "Little Italy." In 1999, Chicago Franchise Systems bought the rights to Al's #1 Italian Beef Restaurants. The first Al's franchised location opened in 2001 in Tinley Park, Illinois.