Dating back to 1962, Santeramo's Pizza House and Italian Food has been an Icon in the Greeley community. Presently owned and operated by Mike Santeramos and his son Jorden, the restaurant is truly a family affair.
Named in honor of the Santeramo family, Michael Santeramo and his wife Catherine immigrated to Greeley from Italy. Their oldest of five children, Lawrence, married his wife June in 1942. Together they established Santeramo's Pizza in Greeley in 1962. Lawrence and June operated a successful restaurant for many years until Lawrence’s untimely death in 1968. For many years, June continued to grow the restaurant, gaining many loyal customers and many friends along the way until her retirement in 1987.
Fast-forward to 2008, Mike’s son Jorden saw a for sale sign of a home on the corner of 10th Ave and 13th Street. He called his Father Mike, and shared they should reopen the present Santeramo's Restaurant. Mike had a successful run operating a restaurant in Breckenridge for many years, and when Jorden called, he had a very good paying job with great benefits in the food distribution business. All of Mike’s friends and family thought he was crazy- but Mike took the leap of faith with Jorden.
October marks thirteen years of successful, true family atmosphere business for this generation of Santeramo’s. When asked how they have thrived and survived starting in the downturn of 2008 through the pandemic of 2020/21, Mike states that the family atmosphere, along with great and loyal employees and homemade quality food have kept them doing what they love, serving the folks of Greeley. Not to mention, a very loyal and diverse customer base has kept the family delivering to the fine folks of Greeley.
When you dine at the restaurant, the family wants you to feel like you’re eating at home. The décor and atmosphere certainly affords that. They even have a private dining room that seats up to 14 people, for guests to reserve for those special occasions.
Quality and authenticity of the food is the highest priority of the family. Mike’s grandfather brought the family recipes in his pocket when they immigrated from Italy in the early 1900’s. They were passed on from generation to generation. In fact, Mike is now the holder of the original papers containing the recipes and, someday, Jorden will take possession of the cherished document.
To this day, Santeramo's makes all of their food from scratch, truly homemade. From sauces to meats, dough to pasta, the family and staff create everything in-house daily.
Santeramo's is also very happy to serve the Greeley community with catering of great food. They can do parties and events up to 200 people- and have on occasion done larger events than that. Mike’s wife Shelly and niece Tiffany run the catering business, giving the Greeley community another avenue to enjoy their wonderful food.
Large portions, quality of food, family atmosphere at a fair price is what the family strives to deliver everyday. As the motto on the wall inside the restaurant states, as Mike’s Grandmother always said, “Nobody Leaves Hungry.”