Couldn’t decide if it should go here or frozen pizza thread:
Stumbled upon this today... interesting local
connection. (Wonder if they ship to US?):
Grandiosa has dominated both the country’s pizza sales and music charts.
www.atlasobscura.com
>>Italian immigrants began opening up pizza shops around the United States soon after the turn of the 20th century. One of those entrepreneurs included Frank Pepe, an illiterate Italian teenager who immigrated to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1909, only to return home a few years later to fight for his country in the First World War. After returning to the U.S., Frank and his new wife Filomena opened Pepe’s Pizzeria in 1925, serving up an unassuming dish from their beloved home on the Amalfi Coast.
At this pizzeria, an employee named Louis Jordan honed his pizza-making craft by working with Pepe’s wood-fired ovens. Jordan and his wife, Anne, eventually decided to move to Norway, where Anne’s ancestors were from. And in May of 1970, they opened their own pizzeria in Oslo named Peppes.
The Jordans’ decision to launch Peppes in Norway couldn’t have happened at a better time. For years, Norway’s food culture had stagnated, and seemed impervious to global food trends. Norwegians growing up during the 1970s and 1980s describe the food during those years as “somewhat depressing.” So when Peppes arrived in Norway, boasting nine varieties of Italian and American-style pizza, their unique menu soon attracted a following. The couple swiftly opened additional restaurants across Norway to accommodate the growing demand. Today, Peppes is considered one of the most popular pizza chains in Norway, with 70 restaurants scattered around the nation.<<