Our History

It all started when a family from Sant’Agata di Militello made a decision to move from the small provincial town full of family, love, and comfort, to a land they heard the streets were “paved of gold”. As the young family of 6 boarded the luxurious cruise liner the Andrea Doria which embarked for New York City, New York, USA from Naples, Italy, they all wondered what the new world would have in store for them. Like all immigrants do, they made their connections and traveled from New York City to Cleveland, and later settled permanently in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As any immigrant would, the father of the household went in search for work and found it in his hometown trade; masonry. The mother was lucky enough to find work as a seamstress, which was exactly what she had done in the old country as well. The oldest boy of the family was 8 at the time and picked up the English tongue rather quickly. As a result, his responsibilities grew larger and larger the more he could learn to speak and was even dependent upon a great deal by the rest of his family the more knowledge he gained.

As the oldest grew older, he found himself in an industry of service that is like no other; the restaurant industry. He gained experience not only in his career at a young age, but also in life itself serving customers at such restaurants like Vittorio’s, Karlrasch’s and even the Fox and Hounds. His love for entertaining guests by serving them find food and excellent ambiance led him to strive to start his own business in the food industry. In 1971, Joe Armeli opened his first business; Pepino’s Pizza; named after his father, he and his wife Marie began on a journey that has since lasted for over 30 years of making the finest pizza in Milwaukee. Always learning and ready to better themselves and their families, they ventured into running restaurants that were based on family values and tradition and even later established their name as one of the finest in hospitality by owning and operating their first and very own fine-dining Steak House in the Lake Country area.

Since then, their three sons have recently begun to enter the market by taking the business a step further and prepare it for the next generations of families in the surrounding communities.

As a family, we hope to carry out this tradition of sharing our services with the community through the products we make and stand behind. Thank you for your patronage.