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
1 reference
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.
4
December 2024
11
2016
39
2018
1 reference
39 locations; headquarters in Oconomowoc; president Trey Hester
41
April 2010
1 reference
38 Wisconsin locations plus one each in Minnesota, Washington and Kentucky
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.
The Westgate store and the mall food-court counters closed in 2017, and Party Pizzeria East in May 2018, leaving the Madison stores at Monona Drive, Prairie Lakes, Regent Street, Tree Lane and the West Beltline.
Joe Brusca, the pizza-supply salesman, sold the first case of cheese to the two men who planned to open Rocky Rococo's.
