by Michael Sewall

Although the Bolingbrook Rosati's Pizza is an offshoot of the company celebrating 50 years in business, it still shares in the history that goes back about a century—all thanks to Ferdinand Rosati, who ditched New York in the early 1900s for the more favorable pizza haven in Chicago.

Ferdinand, an Italian immigrant, opened a traditional Italian restaurant on Taylor Street and welcomed guests with a free appetizer that he called "Pizza A'Olia," a flatbread-style dish with homemade sauce and a thin layer of cheese. It was so popular that pizza became the focus of the restaurant, and since then Rosati's has grown into a large family business.

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Source: http://bolingbrook.patch.com/