Nancy Palese, co-founded iconic namesake pizza restaurants in Chicago, dies at 87

Her husband and restaurant co-founder Rocco Palese created his own version of a hearty “stuffed” pizza (not deep dish) that would become the core of Nancy’s Pizza restaurants.

Nancy Palese, the Italian immigrant who, along with her late husband, Rocco, helped put deep-dish pizza on the Chicago map, died on Jan. 20. She was 87.

The news of her passing was confirmed by a family spokesperson.

Mrs. Palese, born Annunziata Scarano on Feb. 28, 1934 in the southern Italian town of Brindisi-di-Montagna, immigrated to Chicago in 1969 along with her husband (whom she wed in 1948) and their children Ted, Rose and Marisa. Their first foray into the pizza business began in 1971 when the couple took over operations at Guy’s Pizza in the Hermosa Park neighborhood, serving the hugely popular thin crust, tavern-style pizzas. theyBut it was also the dawn of the deep-dish pizza age, and Rocco Palese took note of it in a big way.

Nancy and Rocco Palese soon created their own version of a hearty “stuffed” pizza (not deep dish), based on his mother’s recipe for ”scarciedda,” an Easter specialty pie usually filled with meat and cheese, according to the company’s website.

Courtesy Nancy’s Pizza

The first official Nancy’s Pizza restaurant opened in Harwood Heights in 1974 on Lawrence Avenue, serving up their unique pizza. Several other locations would follow, including one on Golf Road in Niles.

“My mom gave her all to her family,” said daughter Marissa Palese Besch, in a statement released Monday. “She treated everyone with respect and kindness, she worked very hard and always made sure that her children ate properly. She led by example — giving us the love and the values we needed to be happy and successful. And through it all, she lived up to the lyrics of her favorite Sinatra classic, ‘My Way.’”

Rocco Palese passed away in 1994. Private services for Mrs. Palese are planned.

More to come ...