
Oregano’s Pizza Bistro got its start long before it was hosting Arizona families and friends at its eight regional locations. Mark Russell, Oregano’s owner, owes his success to his late father, Lawrence Gibbilini.
After the stock market crash of 1929, Gibbilini and his six brothers and sisters, delivered their mother’s fresh, homemade pizza door-to-door on the streets of Chicago, to help make ends meet. Some called it the first pizza delivery ever, and as the years went by, Gibbilini only became more excited by the idea of bringing friends and family into his home for his fine Italian cooking. He was widely known as “Lawrence of Oregano.”
Gibbilini, though, was never able to fulfill his dream of owning his own restaurant— so after his father passed away, Russell took it upon himself to start the long-awaited family business. Now, Oregano’s stands in honor of the original “Lawrence of Oregano.”
“The goal of the restaurant is to excel at everything we do,” Russell said of his successful pizza bistro. “. The unique offering from Oregano’s is the feeling you get when you walk in. It’s like no other restaurant.”
The smells, sights and sounds of Chicago pull customers in and create a relaxed dining experience, while the specialty pizzas, wafting through the air tempt taste buds and send a rumble through anyone’s stomach.