The Italian Pie Shoppe

The Italian Pie Shoppe was established in Eagan in 1976 by the Gerald DeGidio family. The restaurant at that time occupied the area now designated the smoking room or first dining room. In March of 1981, the James Basta family purchased the restaurant. The Basta family had been in the restaurant business since 1969, owning several restaurants in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. They expanded the restaurant with a new dining room and of course upgraded much of the equipment. The decor and recipes were kept much as they were. Why mess with sucess? Deep dish pizza was added after much testing and tasting and has become quite a success, winning several times in the Twin Cities Reader Pizza Poll and numerous other magazines through the years. In March of 1984 The Italian Pie Shoppe on Grand was opened in what was once Rigoletto's Italian restaurant. With some redecorating the store opened shortly after. A two story addition was added on for storage and to house the fleet of three custom trucks for catering. In 1992 the restaurant underwent a major redecorating. In February of 2008, The Italian Pie Shoppe relocated to the former Risimini's restaurant at 1670 Grand Ave in the Macalester College neighborhood. The restaurants remain a family business owned and operated by the Basta Family.