Godfather's Pizza is an American privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that operates fast casual Italian franchises and pizza express locations.
History
Godfather's Pizza was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1973.[1] Willy Theisen bought out the pizza parlor and the name in 1974 from Gregg Johnson (who later started the Minsky's Pizza restaurants), and sold his first franchise.[2] The chain grew rapidly and was named the fastest growing franchise by the National Restaurant Association in 1977, 1978 and 1979. At the peak of its growth, Godfather's Pizza had close to 1,000 locations nationwide. Theisen sold the company to Pillsbury in 1985 and stepped down from actively managing the company.[3] The company relocated headquarters to Southern California in 1985 before returning to Omaha within a year. In 1986, Pillsbury named Herman Cain CEO and president of the brand. Cain and Ronald B. Gartlan, the company's executive vice president, led a group to purchase the Godfather's brand from Pillsbury, which they did by the beginning of 1990 in a