Sammy's Pizza - West Duluth

SAMMY'S PIZZA - EST. 1954

As World War II soldiers returned home from Italy telling tales of their favorite food, the popularity of pizza in the U.S. grew. Sam Perrella, a former miner who owned a small café in Keewatin, picked up on this growing trend. Having connections in Chicago, Sam visited with some pizza makers and returned home with an idea that sparked and gave birth to what is now Sammy’s Pizza.

In October 1954, armed with enthusiasm and their own secret recipes, Sam and wife, Louise, opened the doors of the first Sammy's Pizza restaurant in Hibbing, MN. Today, some 61 years, 15 locations and more than 20 million pizzas later, Sammy's is now in it's fourth generation of pizza makers, who all use Sam’s original recipes.

In 2015, PMQ Pizza Magazine, the pizza industry’s No. 1 publication, inducted Sammy’s into its Pizza Hall of Fame — which pays tribute to popular pizzerias in business for 50 years or longer.

OUR LOCATION

Sammy’s in West Duluth opened in 1956 and is owned and operated by Mike and Pam Jerulle, along with their son Nick. Tony Jerulle and Rich Chalupsky, owners of Sammy's Pizza in Grand Rapids and Hibbing, respectively, are also part owners of the restaurant.

Mike began his pizza-making legacy in 1964 when he first started working at Sammy’s Pizza in Hibbing. Back then, he earned 50¢ an hour cutting cheese and pepperoni by hand. He eventually became the manager of that Sammy's and 19 years later, he and his wife, Pam, purchased Sammy's in West Duluth.