Vito and Mary Barraco, natives of Sicily, opened a small tavern near downtown Chicago in 1923. Nine years later, they opened “Vito’s Tavern” at 80th and Halsted. In 1939, they moved the tavern to 79th and Carpenter, this time adding table service and a menu of Italian-style sandwiches. After their son, Nick, returned from the army at the end of the Second World War, they added cracker-thin pizza and a richer variety of home-cooked meals.
The restaurant was now known as “Vito and Nick’s,” and the pizza soon became a southside Chicago sensation. On June 25, 1965, Vito and Nick’s moved to 84th and Pulaski, at 8433 South Pulaski, in the Ashburn nieghborhood of Chicago, where it remains today. Now in its third-generation, the Chicago restaurant remains famous for its crunchy thin-crust pizza, featuring such popular toppings as Italian beef or eggs with deep-fried pepperoni, as well as other traditional Italian fare. Located in a non-descript brick building with an Italian tricolor awning, the pizzeria retains its authentic family feel with plenty of tables and ample seating at the bar. Nick passed away in 2002, and his daughter Rosemary George runs the show today. Rosemary's brother Nick now operates Vito & Nick II, although the pizzerias are no longer related
