Roger Brown
Roger Brown is the co-founder, with Wayne Mosley, of Rocky Rococo.
Brown grew up in the Chicago area. As a student at the University of Illinois he worked at Garcia's Pizza in a Pan in Champaign, which sold pizza by the slice, and the idea for Rocky Rococo came from that experience[1][2]. He and Mosley opened the first restaurant at 411 W. Gilman St. on April 4, 1974[3].
In January 1988 the two sold their 70 percent of the company and kept the restaurants in Madison and La Crosse[4], which they ran as franchisees under the name First Madco. Brown said of the change that it "got Wayne and I back to what we do best, which is run restaurant operations"[5].
From about 2022 Brown sold his restaurants to longtime managers. He sold the last, at 1618 W. Beltline Hwy., on December 20, 2024, at the age of 77[2].
Trivia
- In a 1992 profile he said he ate a slice of pizza about twice a week and, because of his cholesterol, had moved from sausage toward vegetarian and plain cheese. He wanted to add ribs to the menu: "Every pizzeria in Chicago serves ribs and I don't know why"[5].
- He credits his wife, Patricia Charley, with creating Rocky Rococo's sausage[2].
- His son, Sam Brown, ran the Regent Street restaurant in 2018[6].
- He was no relation to the Browns of Brown's Restaurant, whose building became the first Rocky Rococo[7].
- "The fact is, we were not hippies and we are not billionaires"[1].
- His goal in 1974 was a chain of restaurants with sales of more than $10 million[1].
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Riddle, J. (1988, January 14). "Rocky Rococo founders reached their initial goal." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 13. Newspapers.com image 400698893.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kalk Derby, S. (2024, December 27). "Roger Brown sells his last restaurant after co-founding the company in 1974." Wisconsin State Journal. p. A1, A6. Newspapers.com images 1153404253, 1153404263.
- ↑ Martin, C. (1982, April 4). "Through pizza's thick and thin, Rocky Rococo Corp. pans out." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 32. Newspapers.com image 404415972.
- ↑ Riddle, J. (1988, January 14). Founders sell their stake in Rocky Rococo (front page). Wisconsin State Journal. p. 1. Newspapers.com image 400698733.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Riddle, J. (1992, February 27). "A big slice of success." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 39–40. Newspapers.com images 405799415, 405799421.
- ↑ Kalk Derby, S. (2018, April 15). "Rocky Rococo leaves East Washington." Wisconsin State Journal. p. E5. Newspapers.com image 420480646.
- ↑ LaBrasca, R. (1974, March 16). "Brown's Restaurant to Close Doors On 36 Years of Good Home Cookin'." The Capital Times. p. 9. Newspapers.com image 521389573.
