If you are of a certain age, you most likely equate an oversized slice of Sbarro pizza with a trip to the mall. Regardless of your opinion on the quality of the pizza, you probably hold some level of nostalgia for the giant, cheesy slice. Sbarro has been a staple of food courts across America since the '70s.

You may be surprised to learn the story of Sbarro begins way before the New York-style pizza slice became an iconic fixture in mall food courts everywhere. Sbarro has its beginnings in a Brooklyn neighborhood when a married couple from Naples, Italy, opened an Italian salumeria. The story of Sbarro begins with Carmela "Mama" Sbarro selling slices of pizza to passersby and making cheesecake in her Bensonhurst restaurant kitchen.