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'''Maria's Pizza''' is a pizzeria at 134 S. Main St. in Oregon, Wisconsin, south of Madison. Its owner, John Indelicato, was born in Sicily and learned to make pizza in Rockford, Illinois<ref name="mc-2022-02-03-marias">Kalk Derby, S. (2022, February 3). [https://madison.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_4967471d-9b89-5d6c-a8cb-e015bcc52227.html "Maria’s Pizza in Oregon makes triumphant return."] ''madison.com''.</ref>.

==History==
Maria's opened in 1978 in a modest brick building off South Main Street, under an Italian-flag awning, and John Indelicato — born in Marsala, on the Sicilian coast — made a point of changing nothing: the cash register, with employee names taped to the front, was the one he bought in 1978<ref name="ct-2018-11-21-pO23">Davis, V. (2018, November 21). "Maria's Pizza 'keeps the memories' in Oregon." ''The Capital Times''. p. O23. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/508042503/ 508042503].</ref>. "You gotta keep it all the same," he said in 2018. "If you change something, it's not the same anymore, there's no more history. This way, I keep the memories."<ref name="ct-2018-11-21-pO23" /> His wife Joanne assisted with the baking, and his daughters Josie and Agnese worked the restaurant from their teens. Most guests built their own pizzas; cheese and pepperoni stayed the most popular orders<ref name="ct-2018-11-21-pO23" />.

Maria's served its last pizza on June 30, 2019 — "after 41 years in business" — when Indelicato retired. A Cap Times essayist that week praised the Maria's Special (sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, a slightly sweet red sauce, a crispy but not thin crust): "I have been all over the country, and I have never found its equal."<ref name="ct-2019-07-03-pO40">(2019, July 3). "Elegy for a small-town Wisconsin pizza joint." ''The Capital Times''. p. O40. Newspapers.com image [https://www.newspapers.com/image/579991983/ 579991983].</ref>

Indelicato closed Maria's in June 2019, after 41 years, and came out of retirement to reopen it on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Because of COVID-19 it took phone orders for pickup only, and customers had to wear masks; on the first days some waited two and a half hours for their pizzas<ref name="mc-2022-02-03-marias" />.

In January 2025 new owners took over from Indelicato. Co-owner Florime Biseri told WMTV they would keep the recipes and slowly bring back pastas, salads, sandwiches and, eventually, dine-in service<ref name="wmtv-2025-01-13-marias">Swartz, S. (2025, January 13). [https://www.wmtv15news.com/2025/01/13/after-40-years-marias-pizza-slice-tradition-returns-oregon/ "After 40+ years, Maria's Pizza, a slice of tradition, will stay in Oregon."] ''WMTV 15 News''.</ref>.

==Trivia==
* The 1995 Madison Yellow Pages listed Maria's Pizza at 134 S. Main St., Oregon (835-5455), and separately a "Maria's Pizza & Pasta" at 6234 University Ave., Middleton (231-0700; carryout and delivery, stuffed, pan and thin pizzas, closed Mondays). Whether the Middleton shop was connected with Indelicato's is not known<ref name="yp-1995-p636">(1995). Ameritech PagesPlus Yellow Pages, Madison, 1995 edition, 'Pizza' classification, p. 636: alphabetical listings Alley Oops (13 Atlas Ct.), Angelo's Pizzaria (5801 Monona Dr.), Buck's Pizza ('Pizza Is Our Only Product Since…. ''Madison telephone directory''. p. 636.</ref>.
* Indelicato also sells his pizza sauce to about ten local stores and bars<ref name="mc-2022-02-03-marias" />.

==Locations==
* 134 S. Main St., Oregon (about 1978 to June 2019; February 2022 to present).

==See also==
* [[COVID-19 pandemic]]
* [[Item:Q1480|Maria's Pizza in the Madison Pizza Wiki database]]

==Notes==
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