John Zaffiro; Milwaukee Pizza Legend
Hyfler/Rosner
April 16, 2006 Sunday
Amy Rabideau Silvers
Zaffiro made 'Sicilian pizza' for 40 years: Restaurant he
ran with his brother became an east side favorite
Apr. 16--In his 40 years as pizza-maker-in-residence at
Zaffiro's, John M. Zaffiro moved a mountain of mozzarella
and a sea of sauce.
"He worked for his brother, but they started it together,"
said son John S. Zaffiro of the pizza place that became
something of an institution on Milwaukee's east side. "Most
of that time, he was the cook and the chef back in the
kitchen, making pizza."
Zaffiro died of congestive heart failure Tuesday. He was 85.
His younger brother was Liberio -- better known as Bob-
Zaffiro, who died in 1989.
The brothers grew up on the east side. Their father was an
immigrant from Sicily, believed to have worked a record 56
years for Schlitz Brewing Co. -- he started working there at
14 -- after arriving in 1912.
The boys' mother died of pneumonia when John was 5 and
Bobwas only 2, and their father later remarried.
John first worked for Bobat the Rock-a-Bye Tap near where
the Italian Community Center is now located. In 1954, the
brothers opened Zaffiro's Pizza and Bar at 1724 N. Farwell
Ave., back in the days when pizza was just starting to
entice Midwestern taste buds.
"The bar took up most of the space and sat about 15 people,
and there was room for maybe five tables," son John said.
"Later they knocked out a wall and expanded into the old
barber shop space next door."
The specialty of the house was John Zaffiro's pizza, thin
with traditional toppings such as sausage and pepperoni,
onions and olives.
"I call it a Sicilian pizza, because my grandfather was from
Sicily," the younger John said.
"And my dad made spaghetti, and meatball sandwiches, too,"
he added.
Uncle Bobwas the more extroverted brother, who worked the
front of the restaurant, he said.
"He'd break out into song," the younger John said. "He
belonged behind the bar."
John was known as a friendly, generous man.
"He was just a really hard-working guy," his son said. "He
would work long hours and never complain. He'd start to prep
the pizza and spaghetti sauce early in the afternoon and
they'd stay open even during the week until 1 in the
morning."
Fortunately, his father didn't have far to go after work.
"We lived upstairs," the younger John said with a laugh.
In local surveys, Zaffiro's has long ranked among the most
popular spots for pizza.
"It's part of the neighborhood," he said.
Zaffiro and his wife, Mary Anne, were among those asked to
pose for artist Adolph Rosenblatt's re-creation of the lunch
counter at the old Oriental Pharmacy, first shown locally in
1987.
"They would go there virtually every day," their son said.
"They were part of that regular lunch counter crowd."
John Zaffiro kept making pizza until 1988, when he retired.
BobZaffiro died the following year after suffering a head
injury in a fall at home. His wife and children have
continued to run the business.
In addition to his son and wife, survivors include daughter
Rosemarie Moser; son Michael; sisters Josephine Perleberg,
Rosalie Anderson and Sally Price; brother Bill; and
grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at St.
Rita Church-Three Holy Women Parish, 1601 N. Cass St.