Ledo Pizza

Ledo Pizza is a pizzeria restaurant chain in the Southern United States, with the heaviest concentration in Maryland and Virginia. Their first pizzeria was opened in Adelphi, Maryland, in 1955 on University Boulevard (Maryland Route 193) in Adelphi Shopping Center near the University of Maryland, College Park. The first franchise was granted to the Fireside Restaurant in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, in 1979. Fireside Restaurant no longer exists. There are now over 80 restaurants in Ledo Pizza's home state of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Florida.

In 2007, Ledo Pizza was rated #33 on the "Pizza Today" Top 100 Companies list with 2006 gross sales of $72,000,000 from its 80 restaurants. [ [http://www.pizzatoday.com/downloads/Top100_2007.pdf "Pizza Today" Top 100 Companies] ]

Ledo Pizza is rectangular in shape and is known for its very thin crust, sweet sauce, and smoked provolone cheese, often using the tagline "Ledo Pizza is square, because we don't cut corners."

While most of its restaurants do not offer delivery options, you can sit down and eat or carry out. When eating at the restaurant, customers are served by a waiter or waitress, rather than receiving the food over the counter. Also, Ledo offers many menu items, such as hamburgers, pasta, its own beer line (Ledo Lager), and more, in addition to specialty pizza types usually offered by pizza chains such as Pizza Hut or Papa John's.

The restaurant chain has been called by several names, including Ledo Pizza, and Ledo Pizza and Pasta.

The original location in Adelphi, Maryland at the Adelphi Shopping Center was established in 1955. The name on its [http://www.ledorestaurant.com website] is "Tommy Marcos' Ledo Restaurant". The original location is not listed in the restaurant finder maintained by [http://www.ledopizza.com The Ledo Pizza System] website. The omission from the chain's website may be related to a legal dispute between the Ledo chain and the Marcos family. [cite news |title=Ledo Pizza sues former partners in trademark dispute |url=http://www.gazette.net/stories/120806/businew191215_31989.shtml |work=Gaithersburg Gazette |first=Marcus |last=Moore |date=2006-12-08] The pizza made at the Ledo Restaurant in the original Adelphi location was named among the best pizzas in America on the "Oprah Winfrey Show". [cite news |work=The Oprah Winfrey Show |title=Quest for the Best: The Best Pizza in America |url=http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20061101/2 |date=2006-11-01] The same pizza based on the same family recipe is served at TJ Elliots in Bowie, Maryland, along with many of the other signature Italian-American and family dishes. TJ Elliots is owned and operated by Tommy and Jimmy Marcos.

Ledo's is also the sponsor of the Mid-Atlantic Skateboard Series. It is the largest amateur skateboard competition on the East Coast.Fact|date=August 2008

The recipe for Ledo's Pizza crust came when Mr Marcos went next door and acquired the recipe from maker Mitchell Gray Dingwall of Loch Lomond Bakery.Fact|date=August 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.ledopizza.com Chain of Ledo Pizza restaurants]
* [http://www.ledorestaurant.com Original location: Ledo Restaurant in Adelphi, Maryland]
* [http://www.curtkimbel.com Skateboard Series sponsored by Ledo's]
* [http://www.tjelliotts.com/ TJ Elliots, another Marcos family restaurant serving famous Ledo pizza, located in Bowie, Maryland]