italian traditions
It was 1979 and my Dad, a high school teacher and the head football for the Chicago City Champs, decided to make a major career change. He moved us from Illinois to California to open and operate a Barro's Pizza in Montebello. His cousin John Barro, along with his brother, Angelo, were the owners of the Barro's franchise and had been encouraging my Dad to open up his own franchise. I even starred in a 30 second Barro's commercial that was aired before all the Dodger's games back in 1982.
By 1992, most of the Barro's franchises had moved to Arizona, but my family had built very strong ties with the community of Montebello, so my Dad decided to take down the name Barro and put up our family name, Rio. And we have been known as Rio's Pizza ever since.