I had a couple of meetings scheduled up in Green Bay with an existing dealer and a potential dealer and I got into town the night before the meetings. In kind of a mood where I really didn't know what I wanted, I checked on-line to see what was near the hotel I was staying at. I found a place that sort of piqued my interest, a long-time pizza place that had been in business for nearly 60 years called Sammy's Pizza.
In the years directly after World War II, the iron range mines of northern Minnesota were a first stop for G.I.'s coming back home after the war. When iron production declined in the early 50's, a number of mines were shut down and miners were laid off. One of those laid off miners was Sam Perella, who along with his wife, Louise, liked to cook. Looking at cooking as a chance to keep his family financially afloat, Sam and Louise opened a small cafe in the small mining town of Keewatin, MN in 1953.
During his times in the mines, Sam had been talking with a number of fellow miners who were Army veteran stationed in Italy during and just after World War II and they kept talking about this pizza pie that they loved to eat while they were there. Sam eventually went to Chicago for a short while to learn about pizza there. He came back with some ideas of how to do pizza, and along with his wife, they added some family recipes to the mix to give their pizza a signature style and taste. Needing a larger place for their pizza restaurant, the Perella's moved to nearby Hibbing and opened the original Sammy's Pizza in 1954.
At the same time, Louise's sister, Flora, was living with her husband, George Clemo in Iron Mountain, MI. George had once been a miner in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but settled in Iron Mountain to work at the Ford automotive plant there. Visiting the Perella's in Hibbing and seeing the success they were having with their pizza place, George Clemo decided that he needed a change in life and decided to open his own pizza place. George and Flora decided to not open in Iron Mountain, but to move down the road the larger city of Green Bay. In December of 1958, George and Flora opened their version of Sammy's Pizza in downtown Green Bay.
George and Flora ran the small shop in downtown Green Bay for 10 years before their daughter, Bernadine (Bernie), and her husband, Al Crispigna, took over Sammy's as the Clemo's retired. After 10 years in the small spot on Walnut Street in downtown Green Bay, the Crispigna's opened a second location on Oneida Ave. just south of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the home of the Green Bay Packers. Four years later, the original Green Bay location of Sammy's Pizza was closed and torn down for a new bridge that was built on the spot.
Because the new spot for Sammy's Pizza was so large, the Crispigna's added a number of Italian dishes to the menu including pasta, sandwiches and salads. Al Crispigna passed away a number of years ago, but Bernie Crispigna, along with her children, Audrey, Paul, and Lori (and Lori's husband, Jesse) continue to run the Green Bay location of Sammy's Pizza today. (There are now 15 Sammy's Pizza locations that are affiliated with the original Sammy's in Hibbing in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, but not with the one in Green Bay.)
Sammy's Pizza in Green Bay was just about a three minute drive - if that - from the hotel I was staying at. (see map) The outside of the building had a brick facade and was rather nondescript for a restaurant. However, at the top of building was a four-foot-high band that encircled the restaurant that had the name "Sammy's" embedded in concrete.
Inside Sammy's Pizza, I found a very nice and somewhat contemporary restaurant that had only a few half-circle windows that looked out onto Onieda Ave. While the center of the dining room was well-lit, the booths along the wall were a little more dark and secluded. There was a half-wall that separated the dining area with the open kitchen area.
I took a seat in one of the booths and was greeted by Justin, who turned out to be a manager. I heard him telling someone later on that he was not a Crispigna family member, but he had worked at Sammy's Pizza for over 15 years. Justin apologized to me, saying, "Sorry that I have to wait on you tonight. I sent one of our girls home sick earlier this evening. I'd rather that you have me wait on you than someone who was sick." I thanked him for that and ordered up a Green 19 American Pale Ale that they had on tap from the Titletown Brewing Co. in Green Bay. It was fairly hoppy and somewhat earthy in its taste, but I liked it.
They have over a dozen specialty pizzas on the menu at Sammy's. But I decided to stick with my old reliable Italian sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Justin asked me if I wanted fresh or canned mushrooms on the pizza. I thought it was rather odd that they gave you a choice - who wouldn't want fresh mushrooms in place of canned mushrooms on a pizza? I ordered up a 10" pizza (12", 14" and 16" sized pizzas are also available).
The pizza came out in about 15 minutes from after I ordered. It featured a thin crust with a considerable amount of toppings. The Italian sausage came in the large chunks just as I like it, and there was a good amount of the salty and somewhat spicy pepperoni slices and, of course, the fresh slices of mushrooms.
The pizza was cut in party - or tavern - squares leaving the four square "honey pot" in the center. This is the best part of a party cut pizza where all the cheese, toppings and grease coagulates in the center and gives the pizza its best taste. In many cases, the crust of the pizza is soggy from the grease, but the pizza at Sammy's wasn't all that greasy. The "honey pot" squares still had a crispiness to the crust. It was a very good pizza.
I've eaten at a couple other pizza places in Green Bay over the years and I've yet to have a bad pizza in the city. I don't know who has the better pizza in town, but I can certainly agree with those who like Sammy's Pizza the most. The pizza was very good, the toppings were tasty and plentiful, and the crust stayed crispy throughout the whole pizza. It was a nice setting for a pizza place, they had a good craft beer selection, and the pizza easily passed my "does it taste good with beer?" test. Sammy's Pizza was a great find during my trip to Green Bay.
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