The '70s Pizza Chain Midwesterners Love But Everyone Else Forgot About

When Willy Theisen and Greg Johnson decided to open their first pizza restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, it wasn't purely business — it was personal. A lot of the big pizza chains at the time were all about speed, efficiency, and keeping costs low. In sharp contrast, Godfather's Pizza was about whimsical branding, giant, thick crusts, extremely generous toppings, and a mind-blowing selection of dessert pizzas.

At its peak in the 1980s, this Midwestern chain inspired by one of the greatest movie franchises of all time had over 800 outlets. Its single-minded focus on building a community around high-quality pizzas (its mission is "to deliver exceptional pizza that brings people together") saw the business outshine the competition for several consecutive years when it came to growth.

By the time the 1980s came around, Godfather's was in the same bracket as big national pizza chains like Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Domino's. While every kid growing up in the 1990s would've eaten Godfather's Pizza, it had started to go out of style much, like the mob itself. While it still exists today — the chain turned 50 in 2023 — it operates less than half the outlets it had at its peak, with a large number of them in convenience stores and gas stations. It also ranked low on the list of popular pizza chains (16th out of 19 that we featured, in case you were wondering). Before we get into what went wrong, there was a whole lot that Godfather's got right.

Godfather's Pizza launched in 1973, a year after the release of the first Godfather movie, and was an instant hit. In 1976, it went all out on the mafia theme, with a new slogan — "an offer you can't refuse" — and a Godfather-like character who was the "enforcer of great pizza". Its franchise model was a huge success too, and by the turn of the decade, Godfather's was expanding rapidly, not just in the Midwest but all over the country. By 1982, it had 632 franchise locations. According to the Godfather's website, this made it the second-largest pizza chain in America at the time. Quick aside: America's best-selling pizza chain in 2025, surprisingly, was Domino's.

Back to Godfather's. One thing the chain got right (outside of the dessert menu featuring Cinnamon Streusel, Apple Streusel, and Cherry Streusel pizzas) was the offers that could not be refused. An advertisement from the early 1980s is a marketing masterstroke. It asks customers to bring any coupon — its, a different brand's, or even a made-up one — to get a free Coke with its pizza. Another coupon from the 1990s features a lunch buffet with unlimited access to the pizza bar and the salad bar at the mind-boggling price of $3.99.

In 1990, it launched a "Math by the Slice" program that bundled studies and pizza together. While little to no information is available online about the program, the trademark registration filed by Godfather's for "Math by the Slice" says it's for "printed instructional material for learning about mathematics in a game-type environment," while the website simply says it helped "students improve math skills."

The 1980s and early 1990s saw dramatic changes. Willy Theisen had sold Godfather's Pizza to Pillsbury in 1981. Pillsbury struggled to find success with Godfather's, and the floundering franchise was bought over by industry veteran (and future Presidential candidate) Herman Cain in 1988. There was a significant change in approach at around this time. Speed came into the equation for the first time as the brand tried to woo busy customers with the introduction of Godfather's Pizza Express. Around the same time, its pizzas also made their way to convenience stores.

It tried switching tracks again in 1996, going back to its old values. The new messaging at the time — "pizza the way pizza was meant to be" — was a step into the past. Unfortunately, the glory days were in the past as well. Having said that, while the brand's story is one of unfulfilled potential, Godfather's Pizza still has a legion of fans, especially in the Midwest. "Godfather's has a special place in my heart, I hope to stumble on one again," one Redditor posted, while another said they were due for a dessert pizza run. "The vanilla dessert pizza is on point," they posted on the r/HuntsvilleAlabama subreddit. "My seven-year-old is requesting that for her birthday cake this year, so I guess we will be making a trip."

For what it's worth, Godfather's can take heart from the fact that it's doing significantly better than America's oldest pizza chain, Shakey's, which operates in fewer than 50 locations today.