Steve's Pizza Palace

The History Of

Steve and Stella (Zaimes) Blatzas, immigrants from Greece, came to America in 1955 with virtually nothing. Their village, Katafugi, was bombed in World War II by the Germans. This made the family uproot and move to Katerini, a city next to Mt. Olympus. The families of that time were large and survival was difficult. During the big immigration wave of the 1950's, Stella's uncle invited the family to Duluth, Minn. Almost all of the siblings of the Zaimes family accepted the offer except one sister and the parents.

They all started working in Duluth at different little shops. Patrick was the only one who managed to attend school and finish college. Late at night, after work, he studied by candlelight. All of the siblings - John, Stella, Patrick and Nick - and Steve Blatzas lived together and helped pay the bills. Steve worked at different restaurants, and in 1963 he decided to make his own pizza pies in Platteville, WI.

The restaurant, named Steve's Pizza Palace, opened in 1964. Steve and Stella ran the restaurant for four years before selling it to Stella's oldest and youngest brothers, John and Nick Zaimes in 1968. In 1980 the resturant was sold to Stella's brother Patrick and his wife Nina. Patrick and Nina made a few changes to the business, including the introduction of the sale of beer and cigarettes. Their daughter, Katherine, was one and a half years old when they bought the restaurant. She grew up helping clean, make dough, and eventually train waitresses.

In 1974 the political atmosphere of Greece changed when Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus. This action caused many business to close. People were worried about the whole country going to war with Turkey.

John Patakos' family operated a bedding factory business with three shops in Greece. Eventually the business dropped off due to the political events. Eleni Patakos' (Poulios') brother, Paul Poulios, invited them to River Falls, WI where he was operating a branch of Steve's Pizza. In 1979, John, his parents Panagiotis and Eleni (Poulios), and youngest sister Niki immigrated from Greece to River Falls, WI.

The Patakos family learned the art of making pizza in River Falls. John and his family did not speak English when they came from Greece. John picked up on the language quickly to help his family. He would go to school during the day and work every night to help his family pay the bills. He was the manager of the River Falls restaurant from 15 to 22 years old. John studied biology and chemistry at UW-River Falls while attending to his duties at the resturant. Later John would go on to graduate with honors from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville with a degree in History.

In 1988, an opprotunity opened up for the Patakos family when the Steve's Pizza Palace in Platteville, WI was put up for sale. John and his family bought the Platteville restaurant since they had already learned the trade. This gave the Patakos family a chance to own their own piece of Steve's history.

Building a relationship

In 1999, Patrick Zaimes and his family returned to the states so the children could complete their university studies. The first year they went back to school at UW-Platteville. John$#39s parents, also in Platteville, invited Katherine and her brother, George, to stay at their home, as they were the only Greek-speaking people in town.

Katherine helped at the Platteville restaurant, operated by John (Patakos). The following year Katherine and George transferred to Iowa State University to continue their studies. John and Katherine kept in touch and eventually developed a romantic relationship.

Katherine and John got engaged in November 2003 and Katherine moved to Platteville after graduating from Iowa State University, in 2004, with a physics degree, dance minor and certification to teach in secondary education physics and physical science.

Now Katherine is working full time at the same restaurant she grew up in. She is the president of the company, manages and conducts the internship program.

Change with time

The restaurant has transformed over the years. Steve's Pizza now includes The Perfect Pint, an Irish themed bar; The Captain's Cove, a large carribean-theamed dining area; a game room: with a pool table and video games; The original old Steve's Pizza, with a 60's theme, jukebox, and a table top video game. Steve's Pizza has also used a variety of vehicles to deliver their delicious pies, from old postal trucks painted with the Steve's Pizza logo to employee vehicles now.

John has operated the restaurant for the longest period of time and has made the most changes to the establishment. In 1989, about a year after purchasing the restaurant, John took a huge risk by making the whole establishment non-smoking. Steve's Pizza was among the first resturants in Wisconsin to be smoke free. His goal was to provide a healthy working and dining atmosphere for his employees and guests. On New Year's Eve of 1999, John expanded the business by opening The Perfect Pint. In 2001, John opend the game room, and in 2002 John added the Captain's Cove. The old dining area of Steve's Pizza was closed for remodeling and re-opened in November 2007.

Award-winning operation

Recently Steve's Pizza Palace Inc. received awards for the restaurant. In January 2007 and 2008, the Platteville Chamber of Commerce awarded John and Katherine the title business persons of the year. Also in January, the restaurant received four first-time awards from the Platteville Weekender. The Platteville Weekend awarded Steve's Pizza Palace Inc. "Best of the Best," in these categories: best place to get an appetizer, best pizza, best take out service and best bartender.

In September 2005, Discover Wisconsin, a PBS production, awarded Steve's Pizza as Restaurant Pick of the Month. The restaurant was also featured on the Platteville episode of Discover Wisconsin.

Throughout the years the Platteville Chamber of Commerce and Platteville Main Street Program also prestented many other awards to Steve's Pizza Palace Inc.

Same taste found elsewhere

They opened a Steve's Pizza in River Falls, WI and ran it for five years. Soon even more Steve's Pizza locations opened in the tri-state area including Cuba City, WI; Iowa City, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; LaCrosse, WI; Menomonee, WI; Northfield, Minn.; Rochester, Minn.; Cresco, Iowa; and Owatonna, Minn. All of the Steve's Pizza are owned and operated by relatives of other Steve's Pizza owners.