Having opened more than 75 years ago, Lasagna House has withstood the test of time, owner Matt Vernon said. While Lasagna House was first opened in Chicago in 1942 by Pete Pizzo, an 18-year-old Sicilian immigrant, Vernon said the restaurant relocated three times since then to its present location at Westheimer Road and Eldridge Parkway in Houston. Shortly after, Pizzo opened a second location at FM 1960 and I-45 in Spring.

Pizzo ran both restaurants until 1995 when brothers Jeff and Alan Smith purchased the location on FM 1960. Six years later, the brothers also purchased the location on Westheimer—the same year Vernon first dined at the restaurant. “My grandmother’s Sicilian, so I really like Italian food and was having a hard time finding it,” Vernon said. “So I came here and tried the food and loved it. I found out employees got discounts so I asked for a job.”