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About Us

Quatro's Deep Pan Pizza had its start in 1975 after four guys from Chicago (Uno, Dos, Tres …get it?) opened a pizza joint in an old doughnut bakery. The four guys knew they had a hit on their hands right after opening, but lacking backgrounds in food service and business management, they found themselves going bankrupt within a year.

Enter Steve Payne, an eager 21-year-old college student, who had cut his teeth at the Golden Bear Pancake House. He bought Quatro's in early 1976, but in honor of the original owners he kept the name. Steve had a passion for restaurant management and soon set about turning his new venture into a success.

The first thing Steve did was renovate the interior. At the time the pizzas were still being baked in the same ovens used by the doughnut shop. An old icebox served as a beer cooler. The restaurant did not even have bathrooms! For the convenience of his customers, Steve bought space next door and doubled the size of the dining area.

During his first year in business, Steve found that his flow of clientele depended on when nearby Southern Illinois University was in session. When classes let out for summer break, business dried up.

Fortunately for him, it was 1976, and a large group of Americans was celebrating the Bicentennial by bicycling across the country. Since Carbondale was a designated rest stop, Quatro's soon welcomed a steady influx of customers. That summer over 2000 hungry and thirsty cyclists from all over the country came in for pizza and beer.

Many of these enthusiasts returned home to tell family and friends about the great pizza they had eaten in Southern Illinois. By the time classes began in the fall, Quatro's was on its way to becoming an established fixture in Carbondale. 41 years later, Steve now serves pizza to the college-aged kids of his original customers!

Blake Morrison

Mar 8, 20231 min read

New Delivery Zones!

In case you missed the news, we have expanded our delivery radius to the outskirts of town. Even if you are still outside of our area, we have established a few meet-at points so you don't have to come all the way into town. The following locations are our meeting points.

East on Route 13: Hucks by John A Logan--1100 Pin Oak Dr, Carterville

West on Route 13: Murphysboro Walmart--6495 Country Club Rd, Murphysboro

North on Route 51: Big Muddy Storage--14501 US-51, Desoto

South on Route 51: Makanda Dollar General--5555 Old Hwy 51 N, Carbondale

South on Giant City Road: Giant City School--1062 Boskydell Rd, Carbondale

If you would like to order delivery to one of these locations using our online ordering system, please use the address of the location and put a note in the customer comment section that you are meeting us there. We will call you when we are leaving the store with your order.

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