Fabio’s Remains a Fixture at the Ohio Valley Mall
When the Ohio Valley Mall first opened in October 1978, the small pizza shop next to the hallway to Kaufmann’s was called Scotto’s Pizza. After 14 years, though, the name above the front door changed to Fabio’s Pizza after Tom Cracolici purchased the business and named it after his son. Kind of, and that’s because there is an interesting story behind the reasons why Cracolici named his son Fabio. “I named him after Fabio Grosso, who scored the winning goal when Italy last won the World Cup in 2006,” Cracolici explained. “My son is 28 now, and he works here, too, and Fabio has blessed me with a grandson this past Monday. Fabio's Pizza has been a very popular destination for mall patrons for nearly 30 years. “I came to America in 1974 because my father was a prisoner of war here, and he told us that it was the best time of his life. He got treated like a king even though he was a prisoner of war,” he said. “He was allowed to work even though he was a prisoner, and when World War II ended, he wanted his family to come here so we would have a better future. I don’t care what anyone says; this is the best damn country in the whole world.” But he still roots for Italy in the World Cup? “Of course,” Cracolici said with a masked smile. “I will always root for Italy.” The pizza buffet at Fabio's offers customers a wide variety of options. Pizza with Your Pandemic? At a time when the American public was learning how to distance and debating about wearing masks, the Cafaro Co. Read the full article