Omaha Exploration

Before the Sortino brothers opened their pizza parlor on 72nd and Pacific, they worked at their father’s fruit and produce stand in the area that would become the Old Market. Sam Sortino started his business in 1928 after immigrating from Carlentini, Italy. He was especially known for his watermelons, which he stacked and displayed out front. It even earned him the nickname Watermelon Man. During the winter months, Sam, like others in the area, sold fresh-cut Christmas trees.

By 1960, sons Tony and Johnny opened a drive-in market of their own at 72nd and Pacific. Starting in 1965, they started a small pizza operation inside their market. The pizzas proved popular, and they eventually closed the market and converted into a restaurant and bar full-time. The father joined them after closing his stand in 1970, which would go on to become the French Cafe.

Johnny and Tony Sortino’s Pizza proved so popular that they remodeled and expanded the restaurant in 1970 so that it could accommodate 240 people. Just one year later the building was destroyed by a fire. After rebuilding at the same location, Johnny bought his brother’s share of the business in 1971.

While Johnny continued to operate the original business, Tony opened another pizza parlor in Ralston at 84th and Park Drive. It was short-lived, and the building would become El Fredo’s fourth location in 1976. From there Tony operated a coffee shop and cafe inside Omaha Tower at 72nd and Mercy Road in 1977. After his father passed away in 1978, Tony got out of the restaurant business completely and went back to his roots selling fruits including watermelons, vegetables, and Christmas trees in the winter. The nursery was at 303 N. Saddle Creek Road and is the current site of Indian Creek Nursery.

Johnny Sortino’s continued to thrive, resulting in a second location at 79th and L in 1977 and a third location at The Blue Jay Bar on 24th and Davenport in 1986. Eventually Johnny would consolidate and close both the original and the downtown locations.

Johnny remained active in the pizza parlor and even greeted customers just days before he passed away in 1998. Tony had passed a few years earlier in 1992. Johnny’s wife Nancy and their daughters took over the restaurant from that point forward.

The restaurant, popular with large groups and whose motto was “quality with quantity,” continued to operate at 79th and L Street until closing in 2025 after 60 years in business. Now Sortino’s made-from-scratch pizza loaded with cheese that extended to the crust, burgers, Italian sausage, and wings live on in the memories of its loyal customer base

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Until next time, keep exploring!

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://johnnysortinospizza.com/press
• Lincoln Star, Omaha businessman Sortino dies, 1992