Sbarro

This page describes the American fast food chain. For the Swiss automobile producer, see Sbarro (automobile).

Sbarro

File:Sbarro logo flag.gif
Company type	Private (family-owned)
Industry	Food
Founded	Brooklyn, New York (1967)
Headquarters	Melville, New York
Number of locations	1,000+
Key people	Peter Beaudrault, President and CEO Anthony J. Puglisi, VP and CFO
Products	Pizza, Pasta
Revenue	$354.4 million (2006)
Website	www.sbarro.com

Sbarro is a U.S.-based chain of fast-food restaurants that mainly sells pizza and other Italian dishes. Before entering the pizza business, the Sbarro family operated a Salumeria (Italian grocery store), which opened in 1956. The first Sbarro restaurant was opened by Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro in Brooklyn, New York, (Kings Plaza Shopping Center) in 1970. Sbarro, Inc., is based in Melville, New York.

Most of Sbarro's restaurants are located in shopping malls, airports, service areas, cinemas or college campuses. Sbarro has nearly 1,000 locations across 30 countries.

History

In 1955, the Sbarro family opened their first Salumeria (an Italian grocery store) in Brooklyn, which became popular for its specially fresh food and genuine Italian fare, including homemade mozzarella, imported cheese, and sausage and salami.

The success of the Sbarro Salumeria led to the opening of more locations throughout the New York City area. In 1967, Sbarro opened its first mall-based restaurant in Brooklyn's Kings Plaza Shopping Center, marking the beginning of the modern Sbarro concept: Italian food in an open kitchen that allowed for fast self service. Over the last 50 years, the King's Plaza business model has been replicated some 1,000 times - helping Sbarro expand throughout the U.S, and the rest of the world.

File:Sbarro3.JPG

Former Sbarro logo.

In early 2007, Sbarro was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a premier private equity firm with offices in New York and London.

In popular culture

World locations

• In Entourage, Eric Murphy was a manager at Sbarro before moving to California with his best friend, Vincent Chase. His employment at Sbarro is often used humorously as evidence that is he is ill-prepared to manage Vince's acting career. He is demeaningly called "pizza boy" by Vince's agent, Ari Gold.

• In the 2002 film Eight Crazy Nights Sbarro is mentioned when Whitey Duvall (Sandler) is showing Davey Stone (Sandler) around the Dukesberry mall.

• In 2006, an episode of NBC's sitcom The Office featured Sbarro. Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, travels from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to New York City, for a business meeting. While there he visits Sbarro to get a genuine "New York slice".

• In the Scrubs episode, My Transition, J.D. says "Why'd you have to soil the plan? It's Veal Piccata night at Sbarro's!"

• In an episode of Family Guy, Peter has to pass the Behaving Like An American In An Airport Aptitude Test, which shows him yelling on his cellphone, eventually saying "Oh, hey look a Sbarro's! I'm gonna' go and get a big fat slice of pizza to stuff in my mouth while I read USA Today!"

• In a Homestar Runner cartoon, The Cheat refers to meeting someone at Sbarro, in a food court.

• In the Steven Spielberg film The Terminal, Tom Hanks' character is proposing to a customs official on behalf of a friend, and after giving her a wedding ring, remarks "He waits for you to answer... at Sbarro."

• In the 2007 movie I Am Legend (film) a Sbarro's is seen in the rundown city of New York.

• In the 1985 film Krush Groove, the Fat Boys eat at Sbarro

See also

• Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing (August 9, 2001, in Jerusalem, Israel)

External links

• Sbarro Website