The original Rocky Rococo pizzeria opened in April 1974 on West Gilman Street, in a building as rectangular as its signature slice. Wisconsin Historical Society
A chapter of Madison history came to a close last December when Roger Brown, one of the founders of Rocky Rococo Pizza, sold his last restaurant. This wasn’t the pan-style pizza joint most Badgers will remember — it was on Madison’s Beltline highway. But it was a last tie to a pizza tradition that began at 411 W. Gilman, just off State Street.
You may be thinking, “I remember Rocky Rococo, and it wasn’t there. It was at …” Well, let your gluten relax a moment. The Rocky’s story is, if not rococo, certainly baroque.
In April 1974, Brown and his partner, Wayne Mosley, opened the first Rocky’s in the site of what had been Floyd Brown’s Restaurant (no relation to Roger). Rocky’s offered up three varieties of pizza — pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom — cut into rectangles and served in foil packets. (The iconic Rocky’s “This Box Rocks” cardboard container didn’t appear until 1976.) That fall, it won the Daily Cardinal’s annual pizza contest, knocking off such favorites as Gino’s, Gargano’s, and Pizza Pit. “Rocky Rococo’s victory was insured [sic] by a combination of a moist-deep crust and good spicing,” said the review.
The little pizza place slowly built toward success. In August 1975, it opened a second location at 651 State Street. Then came pizzerias in La Crosse, Minneapolis, and farther afield. By 1990, Rocky’s had 10 locations in Madison and dozens more around the country.
But pizza is a competitive business in Madison, and Rocky’s might have loaded a few too many pepperonis onto its slice of the market. By 2000, nine of those 10 locations had closed, including Gilman and State. Of course, three more had opened, the one nearest campus located at 1301 Regent Street. That location is now Fabiola’s Spaghetti House. The building that housed 651 State has been swallowed up by the sportswear shop Insignia. And since 2009, the West Gilman location has been home to Fugu Asian Fusion.
If you’re back in town and get a hankering for the Rocky’s deep dish you remember from your student days, don’t fear: Madison still has three locations, and they deliver.
Published in the Fall 2025 issue
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