Sbarro

Sbarro is a chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in traditional Italian cuisine, including its most popular menu item "pizza by the slice." Its headquarters is located in Melville, Huntington, New York.

Sbarro was founded by Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro. The couple and their three sons, Joseph, Mario, and Anthony immigrated to America from Naples, Italy, in 1956 with help from the Padovani family, who took them in. They gave Gennaro employment in their deli. The same year, the Sbarro family opened their first Salumeria (an Italian grocery store) at 1701 65th Street and 17th Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, which became popular for its fresh food and genuine Italian fare. Their Sbarro Italian Delicatessen in Brooklyn was well received by the local community and was the first of a successful chain.
The success of the Sbarro Salumeria led to the opening of additional locations throughout the New York City area. In 1970, 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. One of their busiest outlets was located in the World Trade Center mall.
Since 1970, the Kings Plaza business model has expanded throughout the U.S. and over 44 countries around the world. In early 2007, Sbarro was acquired by MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm with offices in New York and London. In 2008, Sbarro was rated the #1 Quick Service Restaurant in the Italian segment by Entrepreneur magazine. It has held this title multiple times over the years.
On August 9, 2001, the Sbarro pizza restaurant in downtown Jerusalem, Israel, suffered a Palestinian suicide attack that killed 15 people and wounded 130.
Sbarro restaurants are located in department stores, shopping malls, airports, service areas, cinemas and college campuses. Sbarro has over 1,000 locations in 44 countries.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 4, 2011, listing assets of $471 million and debt of $486.6 million. At the time it was ranked by Pizza Today as the country's fifth largest pizza chain. It was the third large pizza chain to declare bankruptcy in less than a year. Earlier Round Table Pizza (ranked #10) and Uno Chicago Grill (ranked #11) through its parent Uno Restaurant Holdings filed bankruptcy. Uno has reemerged. In November 2011, it was reported that Sbarro had been granted court approval to emerge from bankruptcy under a plan requiring restructuring and ceding ownership to lenders.