Pizza Salvatoré

Pizza Salvatoré is a Canadian pizza restaurant franchise headquartered in Quebec City, Quebec. The chain traces its origins to 1964, when Italian immigrant Salvatore Abbatiello and his Beauceronne wife, Angèle Fecteau, opened the first pizzeria in Saint-Georges, Quebec. The business developed as a regional restaurant operation rather than as a publicly traded corporation, with Quebec remaining its principal market. For much of its history, Pizza Salvatoré expanded gradually. By 2018, the chain had 13 locations. That year, five of Abbatiello's grandchildren bought the business and announced plans to accelerate growth beyond Quebec, particularly into Ontario and New Brunswick. The resulting expansion made Pizza Salvatoré one of the identifiable Quebec-based pizza chains with a presence in multiple Canadian provinces. The brand's core business is restaurant and franchise food service, built around pizza and other quick-service menu items such as hamburgers and related fast-food offerings. Its operating footprint remains concentrated in Quebec. According to information available in July 2024, the chain had 93 locations: 85 in Quebec, four in New Brunswick, three in Ontario, and one in Nova Scotia. This distribution illustrates both the scale of its Quebec base and its still-selective expansion elsewhere in Canada. Pizza Salvatoré also tested an adjacent retail channel by selling frozen pizzas in supermarkets from September 2023. The experiment was short-lived: in April 2024, the company announced that it would withdraw from the frozen-pizza market. The decision returned the brand's emphasis to its restaurant network rather than packaged retail products. The company attracted public controversy in March 2025 after co-president Guillaume Jr Abbatiello appeared on an Ici Radio-Canada Première talk show with Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe. Following the program, Abbatiello published a social-media video saying that when his business does not work, he does not ask the government for money, a comment interpreted as criticism of public subsidies for culture. The remarks prompted criticism from Lacombe and wider discussion in Quebec. Abbatiello subsequently apologized. Pizza Salvatoré has also faced disputes over telephone numbers that competitors alleged were confusingly similar to their own. In 2021, Pizza Pizza sent a formal notice concerning the number used by the chain's Drummondville restaurant, which ended in 1111, a sequence associated with Pizza Pizza locations. In 2022, a local pizza chain accused the Trois-Rivières restaurant of using a number ending in 7777 that resembled the numbers used by its four restaurants. That matter was referred to the courts. These disputes concerned customer-contact numbers rather than the chain's core food products. Pizza Salvatoré remains an active, privately held Canadian restaurant brand. Its identity is rooted in a multigenerational Quebec family business, while its recent history has combined geographic expansion, experimentation outside restaurants, and public scrutiny associated with the statements of a senior executive.

Pizza Salvatoré began in 1964 in Saint-Georges, Quebec, where Salvatore Abbatiello, an Italian immigrant, and his Beauceronne wife, Angèle Fecteau, opened the first pizzeria. The business remained associated with its founding family and developed primarily within Quebec. Its early growth was measured: by 2018, the chain had 13 locations. A significant ownership and strategy change occurred in 2018, when five of Abbatiello's grandchildren purchased the chain. The new family owners intended to expand the established Quebec concept into other provinces, with Ontario and New Brunswick identified as important destinations. Expansion subsequently produced a substantially larger network, although Quebec continued to account for most restaurants. By July 2024, Pizza Salvatoré operated 93 locations. Eighty-five were in Quebec, while four were in New Brunswick, three were in Ontario, and one was in Nova Scotia. The geographic profile shows a business that remained strongly regional even as it developed a broader eastern Canadian presence. The brand's principal activity has been restaurant food service, particularly pizza, with hamburgers and other fast-food products also associated with its offering. In September 2023, the company entered supermarkets with frozen pizzas. The retail initiative ended in April 2024, when Pizza Salvatoré announced that it was pulling out of the frozen-pizza market. This reversal made the restaurant network, rather than packaged food, the continuing center of the business. The company has encountered disputes connected with customer acquisition and telephone-number similarity. In 2021, Pizza Pizza sent a formal notice regarding the number used by Pizza Salvatoré's Drummondville restaurant, which ended in 1111, a pattern Pizza Pizza said was associated with its own restaurant numbers. In 2022, a local pizza chain made a similar allegation concerning the Trois-Rivières restaurant's number ending in 7777; the case proceeded to court. In March 2025, co-president Guillaume Jr Abbatiello appeared on an Ici Radio-Canada Première talk show alongside Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe. Afterward, Abbatiello posted a social-media video stating that he did not seek government money when his business was unsuccessful, a remark directed at public subsidies for culture. The statement generated controversy in Quebec and criticism from Lacombe. Abbatiello later apologized. Pizza Salvatoré remains active and privately held. Its history combines an origin in a single family pizzeria, multigenerational ownership, rapid later expansion from a small Quebec network, a brief supermarket experiment, and continuing public visibility as the chain grows across eastern Canada.

• 2025

  Executive remarks create Quebec controversy

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  Co-president Guillaume Jr Abbatiello's comments about government cultural subsidies prompt criticism and a later apology.

• 2024

  Frozen-pizza retail initiative ends

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  The company announces its withdrawal from the frozen-pizza market in April.

• 2024

  Network reaches 93 locations

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  As of July, the chain has 93 restaurants: 85 in Quebec, four in New Brunswick, three in Ontario, and one in Nova Scotia.

• 2023

  Frozen pizzas enter supermarkets

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  Pizza Salvatoré begins selling frozen pizzas through supermarkets.

• 2018

  Five grandchildren acquire the chain

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  Five of Salvatore Abbatiello's grandchildren purchase the 13-location chain and outline plans for expansion into Ontario and New Brunswick.

• 1964

  First pizzeria opens in Saint-Georges

  [1]Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org

  Salvatore Abbatiello and Angèle Fecteau open the first Pizza Salvatoré pizzeria in Saint-Georges, Quebec.

A Quebec-rooted, family-owned pizza restaurant franchise offering accessible quick-service meals, with a large regional network and selective expansion elsewhere in eastern Canada.

• Pizza · 1964

  Restaurant pizza

  Pizza is the brand's core offering and the foundation of its restaurant franchise network. The chain grew from a single Quebec pizzeria into a predominantly Quebec-based network with additional restaurants in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.

• Quick-service food

  Hamburgers and fast-food items

  In addition to pizza, Pizza Salvatoré is associated with hamburgers and broader fast-food offerings served through its restaurant operations. These items support the brand's positioning as a quick-service restaurant rather than a pizza-only retail label.

• Packaged food · 2023

  Frozen pizza

  Pizza Salvatoré tested supermarket distribution with frozen pizzas beginning in September 2023. The company discontinued the initiative in April 2024 and exited this retail category.

• 2025

  Controversy over comments about cultural subsidies

  Co-president Guillaume Jr Abbatiello made social-media comments after a radio appearance with Quebec Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe, saying that he did not ask the government for money when his business did not work. The remarks were interpreted as criticism of government cultural subsidies, drew criticism from Lacombe, and were followed by an apology from Abbatiello.

  Source

Read more

• 2024

  Exit the frozen-pizza marketStrategy

  Background

  The supermarket frozen-pizza initiative had operated for only part of the period beginning in September 2023.

  Action taken

  Pizza Salvatoré announced that it would stop participating in the frozen-pizza market.

  Aftermath

  The brand's business remained focused on its restaurant and franchise network.

  Source

• 2023

  Enter the supermarket frozen-pizza categoryProduct launch

  Background

  Pizza Salvatoré sought to extend its restaurant brand into packaged food retail.

  Action taken

  The company began selling frozen pizzas in supermarkets in September 2023.

  Aftermath

  The experiment ended in April 2024 when the company announced its withdrawal from the market.

  Source

• 2018

  Accelerate expansion beyond QuebecStrategy

  Background

  The chain had 13 locations when five of the founder's grandchildren acquired it.

  Action taken

  The new owners announced plans to expand into Ontario and New Brunswick while continuing the family-owned business.

  Aftermath

  The network later grew to 93 locations by July 2024, although most remained in Quebec.

  Source

1. 1Pizza Salvatoreen.wikipedia.org