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big cheese

Secrets of Cassano’s and The Dough Plant

August 10, 2016 By The Food Adventures Crew 4 Comments

Chip Cassano inspects the hi-tech equipment in the dough plant

***** WIN A FREE PIZZA WITH THE FOOD ADVENTURES CREW ***** JUST COMMENT BELOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN – winner will be chosen at random on Monday
For decades Daytonians have taken pizza for granted.  We don’t realize that Dayton, Ohio is one of the most important cities in the world when it comes to the history of pizza.  And it is all because of Vic Cassano and his mother-in-law Caroline “Mom” Donisi.

Now, 63 years later, The Cassano’s franchise is going strong, and not just in the pizza restaurants.  Cassano’s headquarters on Stroop Road in Kettering is also a facility for dough production.

Vic Cassano Sr. in his early Pizza Days during the 1950’s

— SECRET 1: What most Daytonians don’t know is their dough is produced here, and sold nationwide.  Whether balls of dough or sheeted pizza crusts, hundreds of restaurants serve products made with Cassano’s dough.  We are not allowed to name the companies, but let’s just say they are some big wig, national restaurants, that you definitely would recognize.  There are also hundreds of small restaurants that use Cassano’s, dough as a shortcut for great pizzas, calzones, breads and more.

After a year of preparation, Food Adventures is ready to tell you a story, much of which is unknown to Miami Valley residents.  It is the untold insight into the dough plant, the history and personal triumphs of the Cassano family.

Hand cutting hundreds of pounds of dough from the mixer

Before we get to secrets inside the dough plant lets get the scoop on Cassano’s history:

 

HERE’S THE SKINNY ON CASSANO’S

— JUNE 4th, 1953 – At the urging of a friend in New York, Vic Cassano decides to sell pizza at the Kettering grocery store of his in laws, Mom and Pop Donisi.  Using a thin crust recipe developed by Mom Donisi from her days in Italy, they make pizza available for the public.  It is a huge hit, and they sell 400 pies the first day on Schantz Avenue.  It is Dayton’s first introduction to pizza.  Needless to say the grocery store, soon became a

The Cutter presses 6 inch to 18 inch crusts for freezing

pizza shop.

— SECRET 2: THIS SUMMER DATE in 1953 ALSO MARKS THE INVENTION of THIN CRUST PIZZA in THE UNITED STATES.  Don’t let anyone tell you different, Dayton, Ohio is the center of that storm.  That would have been a hell of a day for a Food Adventure.   

Dough Balls are produced through a mostly automated system

— SECRET 3: Vic Cassano decides to cut the pieces in tiny squares.  WHY?  Because in 1953 it wasn’t “lady like” to be holding and handling big slices of pizza in your palm.  Cassano’s square slices were the polite and dainty way to enjoy the Italian treat.
— SECRET 4: Vic Cassano was not only a pizza genius, he was a mechanical genius.  He patented the first self cleaning oven.  To this day, his family  still finds dozens of papers in the office, detailing patented inventions from cooling and refrigeration systems to appliances.

Vic Cassano Jr. streamlined operations efficiently

 — SECRET 5:  Cassano’s was the first franchised restaurant in Ohio and possibly the United States.  The early 50’s were a time of business and law challenges, as many scenarios were never seen before.  Cassano’s was instrumental in the development of what we know today as franchising laws.  This allowed Cassano’s to steadily grow in the 50’s and 60’s.

Heart Shaped Pizza option in February

— SECRET 6:  Vic Cassano’s company was the first to ever freeze dough on a large scale.  He experimented with recipes and developed a full Italian menu.

— Owners of the local iconic pizza places like Marion’s Pizza and Ron’s Pizza, originally had affiliations with Cassano’s.

— In the 60’s and 70’s,  Cassano’s added affiliated restaurants like Sandy’s Hamburgers and London Bobby’s Fish and Chips.  They now had over 100 stores in total.  They served pizza on a cardboard slate, and “to go” orders were slid into bags and crumpled at one end, while leaving a”puff” in the bag, so not to damage the pizza or its toppings.

Unforgettable Tour of the Dough Plant – and Dough Samples !!

 — Here comes THE BIG CHEESE: In the early 80’s Cassano’s introduced their masterpiece pizza, the Big Cheese Pizza.  This was their deluxe pizza with double the cheese on top.  This became a menu staple and you can still order the Big Cheese “Vic’s Way” (with black olives) or “Mom’s Way” (with green olives).   During this time, Cassano’s started serving their “to go” and delivery pizzas in boxes.

—  In 1986, Vic Cassano sold the business.  A year later Mom Donisi passed away.  As the family saw their former business struggle in other people’s hands, so Vic Jr. decided to buy it back in 1989.  It was a short hiatus and the pizza business atmosphere was saturated with saturated with national and local companies.  To say it was extremely competitive is an understatement.

Side view of a legendary Cassano’s Pizza in the making

— With Vic Cassano Jr. at the helm, the 90’s were the start of a new, efficient direction of cutting waste and streamlining the business.  It worked.

— Vic Cassano Sr passed away in 2002, at the time his son kept rebuilding the brand and would expand operations at the dough plant.

Sheeted Pizza Crusts, stacked and ready to be packaged

— The amazing strides and improvements in efficiency, allowed more investment in equipment.  A centralized call center was finished in 2003.  Vic Cassano Jr. had turned the corner and was working on bringing back some nostalgia back to Cassano’s like the Pizza King logo, the London Bobby Fish and Chips and more.  In, 2010, Vic Jr. unexpectedly passed away.  To his credit, he had prepared his children Lora, Chip (aka Vic the 3rd), and Chris over the past decades to take on the new leadership role.  They did just that, carrying on the vision of their father and adding even more to the legendary name.

An up close look at the one and only BIG CHEESE PIZZA !

— Today, under the management of the third generation Lora Cassano-Hammons, Vic Cassano III, and Chris Cassano, there are almost 40 pizza shops and over 600 employees.

— Product developments included bringing back “Pizza Packs to go” and a new “Home Edition” Frozen Pizza line found in stores and available to be shipped nationwide.   The Stroop Rd. location has gone back to carry the “London Bobby Fish and Chips” meals again.

London Bobby’s Fish and Chips available at the Stroop Rd. Cassano’s

— About 3 years ago, The Cassano’s Cares Foundation  was set up.  It is the charitable arm of Cassano’s set up in memory of Vic Cassano Jr.  Their purpose is to give back to local charities and organizations.  Memorable events included an evening with Pete Rose and a Corvette giveaway.  There is also an annual golf outing to support the foundation as well.  There is even a Vic Cassano Health Center on Edwin C Moses Blvd.

— In June 2016, almost 63 years to the day after the first pizza was sold, the Ohio Historical Connection declared the Cassano’s Stroop Rd. office a historical site.  Now your Food Adventures on Stroop Rd, can be truly historical !

 

Now, let’s go from modern history to secrets inside the Dough Plant …..

These two flour silos hold 75,000 pounds of flour… EACH !

INSIDE THE DOUGH PLANT:

— SECRET 7:  The dough plant, located at 1700 East Stroop Rd.  produces approximately 50,000 – 70,0000 pounds of dough daily.  Only about 20 percent of that is for Cassano’s restaurants.  The remaining 80 percent is sold to other food establishments.

— SECRET 8:  The plant uses 30,000 pounds of flour each day.  The facility is equipped with 2 huge flour silos that each hold 75,000 pounds of flour.  WOW,  this place would make Willy Wonka proud.

Caroline “Mom” Donisi. Her recipe from Italy was the spark

— SECRET 9:  The plant has a capacity to produce about 8,000 pounds of dough in an hour.  Depending on the size, that can equate to 100-200 dough balls per minute during the morning shift.  In the afternoon shift, the plant switches gears to produce pizza crusts from 6 inches to 18 inches in diameter.  The crusts are shrink wrapped to prevent breakage and boxed and loaded into a freezer or  refrigerated delivery trucks.

The Chopped Steak Sub

— SECRET 10: The dough recipe has been tweaked slightly over the past 20 years.  When making pizzas these days they even “tack” the dough with a docker to control bubbling of the dough.  Remember those bubbles in the 70’s and 80’s on Cassano’s pies ?  You don’t see those anymore.

All this talk about dough has us a bit hungry.. may Food Adventures suggest some “Must Eats” from our decades of devouring Dayton’s original thin crust pizza?  CASSANOS !

Cassano’s Headquarters is named a Historical Site, June 3rd 2016

MUST EATS:

— THE BIG CHEESE “VIC’S WAY”:  Mounds of cheese, Pepperoni, Sausage, Mushrooms, Onions and Red & Green Peppers, Black Olives and more cheese!  This is it.  This is the Cadillac of the Cassano’s menu.  So good, it will make you sleepy afterwards.  A flavorful, filling, and unforgettable pie.  As Vic used to say.. “It’s one heck of a pizza!”

— THE CLUB CASSINI: Ham, Pepperoni, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Provolone Cheese and Italian dressing on a Mediterranean flat bread bun.  This was a great

Packaged Dough, ready for the freezer

surprise and has such a meaty and creamy, delicious flavor.  This is an unknown menu gem.

— PEPPERONI PIZZA WITH EXTRA SAUCE:  The Big Ragu has been using this trick since 1986.  He suggests you always order your Cassano’s pepperoni pizzas with extra sauce. They take their time and spend a little more time on your pizza.

— THE CHOPPED STEAK SUB:  Get your messy groove on with this Steak patty, topped Provolone Cheese, Pizza Sauce,  dripping with Mushroom Gravy, sprinkled with Onions and Banana Peppers.

Dough off the conveyor belt

— THE 30 INCH PARTY PIZZA:  Get it, you only live once.  Perfect for parties – birthday or super bowl.  $100 gets you a deluxe and 80 bucks gets you a one topping pizza pie.   This humongous pizza is a party in a box…. a pretty big box.

We are honored to be able to take a behind the scenes view at the Cassano’s pizza and dough plant.   The factory employees and management are always friendly and

Top it with sauce and you got something going….

accommodating.  Thank you for letting us see the legendary Dayton magic firsthand.  Congratulations to the Cassano family on all of their accomplishments.  They are a great family and we are lucky to consider them friends.  We are excited to see what the future holds for this Dayton original.

Honorable Mention: The Spaghetti Dinner:  Sometimes we just crave the simple pasta and sauce combo.  So pure, so peasant, so good….

Don’t forget to check out our weekly Food Adventure feature articles on MostMetro. com

For daily Food Adventure updates, hit us up on Facebook and LIKE US HERE….

Pizza Kings and the Hit King – Pete Rose

1970’s pic of Mario Andretti with the famous pizza pie in a bag – old school

Now available frozen – cooked 80% for you to finish cooking at home

Frozen Dough ready to go

Chip has given us a few tours of the plant,.

Stroop Rd Headquarters

Part of the Cassanos Call Center

Chicken Parm

Trimmed dough gets recylced

Sheet Pizza Dough

Dough cutters

Sauce it up

Compressing the Dough to crust thickness

Look at those pallets

True dat

Hungry Jax’s kids were Cassano kids for a day !

THE BIG CHEESE – VICS STYLE

Dough balls

Pepperoni pie

Chip, PIzza King and Chris Cassano

Pizza with Pete Rose

London Bobby Fish and Chips Dinner

Did you know Cassanos has hand tossed pizza ?

Our friend Mike explaining the dough process

sealed !

Shrunk wrapped to prevent breakage

All those pizza crusts …..

The Big Cheese is the way to go …

Cassanos ships these all over the USA

Into the freezer

The Pizza King, Lora Cassano and Big Ragu !

Chip talking about the automated processes of the plant

Ravioli app

Dough coming through

Cassanos – always testing the dough

A pepperoni Cassini – Ragu loves them….

Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Food Adventures, The Featured Articles Tagged With: 30 inch, big cheese, Big Ragu, caroline, Cassano, Cassano's, cassini, chef house, chip, Chris, crust, Dayton, Donisi, dough, food adventurees, food advenure, frozen, frozen pizza, historical, hoagie, hungry jax, Icon, klegendary, legend, Lora, mom, ohio, Party, pepperoni, pie, pizza, plant, site, steak, stroop, sub, thin crust, vic cassano, vic jr

The Fearsome 15: Top Guilty Food Pleasures in Dayton

October 24, 2013 By The Food Adventures Crew 1 Comment

Frisch’s Hot Fudge Cake is Sinful

We all have them, we all need them… guilty pleasures.   As we get older, we try to eat healthier, but once in a while, you gotta splurge.  Dayton is a great place to do so.   Sure, there is fear in seeing the calorie count, and scary scale readings the following week… but sometimes you gotta have a ghastly, full blown Food Adventure.

So without further ado, we present present our list of the Top 15 Guilty Food Pleasures of the Dayton Area:

 

15) THE FOOTLONG CHILI DOG at THE ROOT BEER STANDE: Long and strong, we came to get the friction on.  This wiener is a mouthful of goodness and a ruined shirt waiting to happen.  Eat it in your car, roll up the windows so no one can see,.  But we know… this is one of your guilty pleasures.

 

14) FRICKER’S RIBS & WINGS DINNER:  This huge meal comes with a half rack of ribs, those famous fried chicken wings, cole slaw, roll and an side.  Finger lickin’ good, and a naughty belt buster for sure.

 

13) THE PEANUT BUTTER SUNDAE at JET FREEZE:  Homemade peanut butter sauce, ice cream, whip cream, nuts and a cherry on top.  The peanut butter sauce alone is so sinful that it catapults it onto the list.

 

12) THE BROOKYLYN BRAWLER PIZZA at JOHNNY’S SLICE of NY:  When you serve a giant, stuffed pizza as big as a spare tire, it has to be a guilty pleasure.  Big eaters of the Miami Valley come from far and wide not only to eat this giant creation, but to see if 2 of them can finish it in 30 minutes or less to get on the wall of fame.  Filled with various meats and cheeses, this guilty pleasure is for serious eaters.

 

11) THE SEAFOOD PLATTER at TREASURE ISLAND: Deep fried scallops, a cod filet, frog legs, fried shrimp and stuffed crab on a plate with 2 sides.  You can taste it all, but don’t test your cholesterol that day.  The over the top moment of this dinner is when they serve you some drawn butter for dipping.  Oh, behave !

 

10) ALL-YOU-CAN EAT FISH at the HASTY TASTY PANCAKE HOUSE:  For just $7.25, you can literally fill yourself to the gills.  Breaded and crispy, it is one of the best ‘bangs for your buck’ as far as sinful meals go.   The fish is Alaskan pollock, and when you add the sides, rolls and butter slabs, the wheels come off the diet train.

 

9) BROASTED CHICKEN at GEORGE’S FAMILY RESTAURANT:  Deep fried in a pressure cooker, this stuff is guilty fun for the while family.  Moist inside, the chicken is always cooked to perfection. Get some heavenly comfort food sides and complete this trip to dream street.

 

North China’s Crispy Shrimp: Rich, Spicy Flavor with a Touch of Sweetness

8) CRISPY SHRIMP at NORTH CHINA:  One of our favorite Chinese restaurants serves us a sweet sauced, deep fried shrimp dish that will knock you on your socks.  The taste, the crunch, the bites of sauce mixed with rice.  Overdone richness?  Guilty as charged.

 

7) POTATO SKIN CUPS at ANGIE’S FIREHOUSE:  Stuffed with chili, bacon, onions, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, green onions, jalapenos and sour cream they are a beautiful piece of work.  You will find yourself eating an entire plate of these and passing out in a food coma.

 

6) BISCUITS & GRAVY at TANK’S:  Delicious, artery clogging goodness.  Although this legendary spot on Wayne Avenue has many treasures, we find this to be our most guilty pleasure.

 

5)  THE HOT FUDGE CAKE at FRISCH’S:  We know, this is semi-local and more of a regional treat, but it deserves a spot on our list.  Hot, steaming fudge, hitting the cool cake and ice cream.  The feeling of the whip cream and hot fudge on your lips is worth every calorie.

 

4) THE PANZAROTTI at MAMMA DISALVO’S:  This is pretty much a calzone that is the size of a small kid.  Imagine an extra large pizza full of toppings and cheese, that has been folded in half.  Served with dipping sauce, it is like cutting into a turkey to begin eating.  Go all out and dip your forkfuls into marina or ranch.  It is absolutely delicious.

Click to Enlarge: Broasted Chicken from George’s Family Restaurant

 

3) THE HOG BURGER at VOLTZY’s:  Voltzy says he named the burger after his ex-wife.  All we know is that this mammoth 20 ounce burger melts in your mouth, and you find yourself saying “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

 

2) CASSANO’S BIG CHEESE PIZZA:  Like Vic Cassano Sr said “It’s one heck of a pizza.”   That famous Cassano’s crust and sauce, loaded with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, olives and finished off with a m0und of cheese.  The proof is in the taste.

 

The Big Bo BJ Breakfast Sandwich from B&B Carryout

1) THE “BIG BO BJ” at B&B CARRYOUT:  Get your mind out of the gutter, this is a breakfast sandwich.  And it is one helluva guilty pleasure.  This craziness is a bun with sausage, a fried egg, a hash brown patty, American cheese,strips of bacon and hot pepper cheese.  You won’t feel that guilty, because the every bite is just so darn good.  A handful of greasy, gooeyness, with great flavor.  If you haven’t tried the Big Bo BJ, you need to grab yourself one.

 

Do you feel guilty yet?  Naughty nibbles indeed.  Honorable Mention to : Paragon Supper Club’s Paragon Supreme Dessert- a peanut butter and chocolate ice cream mousse, Marion’s Super Cheese Pizza – delicious, Tank’s Chili Cheese Fries-out of this world, and Submarine House’s Super Duper Cheesesteak– triple the meat and cheese & 16 inches long.

DID WE LEAVE ANY OUT?  WHICH OF YOUR FAVORITE GUILTY PLEASURES SHOULD WE HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR LIST??

Please comment below and let us know !

For more fun from Dayton’s one-of-a-kind foodies visit FOOD ADVENTURES with THE BIG RAGU, CHEF HOUSE and HUNGRY JAX on FACEBOOK and “like” us HERE .

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Filed Under: Dayton Dining, Food Adventures, The Featured Articles Tagged With: #daytonfood, #daytonohio, all u can eat, all you can eat, Angie's firehouse, angies, B & B, B&B, big bo bj, big cheese, Big Ragu, biscuits, broasted, brooklyn brawler, bunnys, Burger, calories, calzone, carry out, carryout, Cassano's, Centerville, cheese coney, chicken, Chili, chili dog, coney, crispy shrimp, Dayton, DaytonDining, deep fried, Disalvos, eating, family restaurant, Food Adventure, Food Adventures, foodies, foot long, footlong, Frickers, fried, frischs, frog legs, Georges, gravy, guilty, guilty pleasure, guilty pleasures, Hasty Tasty, hog, hot dog, hot fudge cake, jet freeze, Johnny's, Kettering, mama, mamma, Marions, moraine, naughty, new york, North China, NY, pancake house, peanut butter, pig out, pizza, pleasure, pleasures, potato skins, ribs, rich, root beer, root beer stand, Root Beer stande, seafood platter, slice, sliders, stande, sundae, supper club, szechuan, Tanks, The Big Ragu, treasure island, unhealthy, voltzy's, Wayensville, Wayne, wayne ave, White Castle, wings

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