Pappo’s Pizzeria & Pub

“Pappo” Chris had many years of pizza experience and a fanatical desire to produce exceptional pizza at a higher level. He believed there was something missing in the pizza market in the US, Something fresh and something real.

Much of Pappo’s influences came from his Italian family. What started with Pappo’s Italian relatives, and especially his mother Joan, became the torch that passed on an Italian culture and tradition of family and food. Joan’s meatballs, a 5th generation recipe, are served at PaPPo’s today. Joan had a big influence on Pappo and the way he approached food, subtle flavors, natural and fresh.

Pappo’s father, Richard, in addition to being an example as a business owner, was also influential in his love for good food. He loved to bake bread for the family. He taught Pappo how to roll out fresh, made-from-scratch bread. This fresh baked bread is served at Pappo’s today!

Fast forward…after owning pizza franchises and other restaurant concepts, Pappo become disillusioned and aware of how pizza places and other restaurants made their products. The food industry is geared toward producing pre-prepared food with tons of additives as cost effectively as they can. It was all about convenience for the operator, ease of training (making it idiot-proof as they would say) and cutting costs to produce a cheaper and faster product. Realizing the need and desire for a higher quality pizza, he decided it was time to bring into the pizza business a concept that served Stone-baked, handcrafted, hearth-baked pizza with only the finest and freshest ingredients. much like his Italian family had done for decades, in a cool and inviting atmosphere. Then he added craft beer, and PaPPo’s has become a crowd pleaser and award-winning restaurant concept.

The Beginning

PaPPo’s Pizzeria & Pub was first opened and doing business in 2012 in Springfield, MO. Birthed from a desire to create a place where fresh and real food is prepared from scratch…with methods from old…and some new, culminating into a better experience for Pizza Lovers and Craft Beer!

The first location was opened at 221 East Walnut in Downtown Springfield in 2012. PaPPo’s™ won an award for Best Pizza both at the Pizza Bowl and with MSU Students and was popular right from the start. Expansion began in 2014 at the Lake of The Ozarks and was met with huge success and rave reviews. Winning Best Pizza at the Lake in the first year it was opened with wide acclaim from locals and visitors alike. PaPPo’s also won the People’s Choice at Wing-Fest 2018 for Best Wings, more “Best Of” honors for “Best Place to grab a Beer”, “Best Pub”, “Best Sub Sandwiches”, “Silver Spoon Awards For Best Pizza”, Best of Missouri as well as “Certification of Excellence” and a #1 ranking on TripAdvisor for 6 straight years including the coveted TripAdvisor “Traveler’s Award 2021.”

As PaPPo’s popularity has increased, PaPPo’s has been on a growth track, opening a 2nd location in Springfield, Mo. and at the end of 2019, opened a location in Columbia, Mo 2019, and St Robert, MO in 2021, as well as the first franchise in Quincy, IL in 2020.

New locations have opened in Jefferson City, MO. and Huntsville, AL as well as a new franchise location in Fairview Hts, IL.

In 2023, a new corporate location will be coming to Branson and another new franchise location in the Kansas City area. PaPPo’s™ is currently franchising to qualified individuals and we are actively looking for excellent corporate locations.

At PaPPo’s™ ‘’we keep it real…we keep it fresh” Look for a PaPPo’s to open soon near you! Cheers!