HISTORY

 “CONTINUING A FAMILY TRADITION”

     It was the summer of 1978 when Anna and Dimitrios Loukataris made their dreams a reality. Both immigrants of Greece, they came to America in the late 1950’s seeking to capture the opportunities that were available to those willing to work hard for their success. A seamstress and plumber by trade, they both worked very hard to raise a family and make ends meet. After several years in Gary, Indiana, with jobs becoming scarce, they decided to migrate to Clearwater, Florida. Here Dimitrios was able to apply his trade with far more success. This allowed Anna to stay home, raise their three children and instill the values synonymous with proud, respectable, Greek Americans. Working part-time at various local restaurants, Anna came to discover that she, too, could capture part of the American dream of entrepreneurship. With a strong work ethic, a passion for quality ethnic food and the support of her family, Queen’s Pizza became a reality.    

    Queen’s Pizza quickly became a hit in the local area. Anna’s secret was to give customers high-quality, fresh, homemade Italian food with a Greek flair. For the first several years, running the business was a combined effort of the children, family members, and friends. Dimitrios joined his wife on a full-time basis after a back injury required him to undergo surgery. Anna’s intentions for the family business were simple, provide an enough income to comfortably raise her family. With no plans of growing her business beyond a neighborhood pizza shop, Anna and Dimitrios continued on.

     With their children all grown up, married and with their own families and careers, the topic of expansion started to be a part of the family gatherings. After moving to Greece for a few years, Anna’s only daughter Eva relocated back to Florida with her husband Tony and their children. Tony had also ran a successful family deli in New York for over 20 years. He quickly joined with his in-laws and in October of 2000, Dimitrios and his son-in-law Tony opened the second Queen’s Pizza restaurant. With a 20 year history in the area, this larger full-service Queen’s was an instant success. Providing a more extensive menu featuring lunch specials along with a local delivery service, it became evident that this new Queen’s Pizza was more than your neighborhood pizza shop. Peter, the youngest of Anna’s sons, decided to leave his career in the data communications field and open the third Queen’s Pizza in February 2002. This restaurant was similar to the original Queen’s in size and neighborly hospitality. In the summer of 2002, Anna’s oldest son John left his 15 year corporate career in the hospitality industry to relocate his family back to Florida. John replaced his father’s role at the second location and continues to operate there with his brother-in-law. All the pieces were now in place to continue the family tradition.

            “As a family we are now in a much more advantageous position to continue what my mother began. We all believe in the same values that were instilled into us at a very young age. This is a simple business; consistently give the customer great, quality food in a clean and friendly environment and you will succeed. Our future aspirations are to surround ourselves with great employees that also believe in our products, service, and tradition.  Stay tuned…”  John D. Loukataris