Donatos Pizza was founded in 1963 by Jim Grote, who purchased a pizza restaurant for $1,300. Grote didn’t want just any pizza business, he wanted the best in the industry. McDonald’s purchased the company in 1999 with the idea of getting into the pizza business, but this did not work out. Grote and his daughter Jane repurchased most of the restaurants from McDonald’s.
Today, Donatos Pizza has 200 locations in 8 states. It is best known for its “loaded edge to edge” pizzas, especially for the pepperoni pizzas, which have a minimum of 100 slices of pepperoni per pizza. The company has also introduced submarine sandwiches, salads, and chicken wings.
Donatos Pizza was part of Undercover Boss in an episode which aired in October of 2013. The company is still owned and operated by the Grote family and has headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.
