Rocky Rococo (Q552)
From Madison Pizza Wiki
pan-style pizza chain founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1974
- Rocky Rococo's
- Rocky's
- Rocky Rococo Pan Style Pizza
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Rocky Rococo |
pan-style pizza chain founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1974 |
|
Statements
4 April 1974
1 reference
With a loan they bought a restaurant at 411 W. Gilman St. in downtown Madison and on April 4, 1974, opened for business.
1 reference
It all comes down to selling pizza by the slice and using unusually good sausage.
1 reference
Jim Pederson, who was the face of Rocky Rococo on TV and the voice of Rocky's on radio for 40 years
1 reference
credits his wife, Patricia Charley, an employee at his original restaurant on Gilman Street, with creating Rocky's unique sausage
5
August 1978
1 reference
I got five diffrint restaurants
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Four years later, there were three more Madison stores and one in La Crosse.
11
April 1982
1 reference
Today, there are six restaurants in Madison, two in La Crosse and three in Minneapolis.
6
April 1982
43
February 1985
1 reference
there are 43 Rocky Rococo restaurants in four states
10
January 1988
120
1988
1 reference
the Rocky Rococo Pan Style Pizza chain grew to 120 restaurants nationwide by 1988
1 reference
At its height, there were 125 stores from Spokane, Washington, to Puerto Rico.
41
January 2009
1 reference
Co-owns 11 restaurants with co-founder Roger Brown. Eight are in Madison and three in La Crosse. Another 30 restaurants are part of the Rocky Rococo Corp.
8
January 2009
39
April 2018
1 reference
In all, there are 39 Rocky Rococo locations, all but two in Wisconsin
31
December 2024
1 reference
There are now 30 Rocky's in Wisconsin, including in Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Wausau and Appleton, plus one in Minnesota. Four remain in the Madison area.
1 reference
Later this spring they expect to enter a new phase of growth when they become licensed to franchise in Wisconsin.
The name came from a song on a record album; the founders met at the University of Illinois and chose Madison after touring Big Ten towns in 1973.
The sauce is sold in grocery shops in 15-ounce jars. A heart-shaped pizza is sold for St. Valentine's Day, one of the busiest days of the year.
1 reference
A 2024 Capital Times review of Fabiola's says Roger Brown and Pat Charley founded Rocky Rococo in 1974; Brown's own account (State Journal, December 2024) names Wayne Mosley as co-founder and Charley as an early employee who created the sausage.
Roger Brown still owned five Madison-area and two La Crosse Rocky Rococo stores in June 2021.
