University of Windsor student Ally Peddie created the research project A Slice of Windsor, detailing exploring the origins and history of Windsor-style pizza. (Courtesy Ally Peddie/ University of Windsor)
By Lindsay Charlton
If you asked someone what Windsor is known for, you might hear different answers, from the auto industry to its riverfront views. Ask a local, though, and one is sure to top the list — pizza.
Cornmeal-dusted crust, shredded pepperoni, canned mushrooms and Galati cheese all make Windsor-style pizza unique. But how did it start? And how did it become the iconic formula used across pizza shops in the city?
Ally Peddie, a concurrent education program graduate now pursuing an honours degree in history, created a project with support from the University of Windsor’s Department of History and the Canadian Business History Association (CBHA).
A Slice of Windsor answers those questions by examining Windsor-style pizza through the lens of local history, immigration and community identity.
“I started by looking at early Italian immigration to Canada, specifically in the Windsor region, and how Italian immigrants built their own community here. As they started their own businesses, we saw that carry over into the pizza business,” she said.
“I also looked into the creation of Windsor-style pizza and where it started. Most people credit Volcano’s Pizzeria with originally creating this style of pizza.”
Peddie said cousins Eugenio Manza and Frank Gualterri came to Canada during a period when many Italian immigrants were arriving in search of work. Manza initially settled in Manitoba to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway but later moved to Windsor to be closer to his brother-in-law, successful businessman Stan Cundari.
“His brother-in-law, Stan Cundari, also had a pizza company in Detroit, and it was very big there. Recognizing Windsor didn’t have something like this, he asked Gualterri to go into business together,” Peddie said.
Manza and Gualterri opened Volcano’s in 1957.
The ingredients that came to define “Windsor-style” pizza were chosen for practical reasons, Peddie said.
“They went with shredded pepperoni because it’s easier to spread on the pizza, and the mushrooms were locally sourced but canned because they can last longer and they don’t dry up or burn when cooked. It’s all these little things that make the quality of the pizza better,” Peddie explained.
Peddie found that many of the city’s best-known pizzerias have ties to Volcano’s.
“A lot of Windsor's pizzerias have roots within Volcano’s. Some of their founders even worked there. We see the inspiration from that, and when people see something stick, they follow with it,” she said.
A Slice of Windsor first took shape during a discussion in Peddie’s Borderlands: Canada-United States Relations since 1783 class about whether Windsor had its own identity. While some students argued the city was overshadowed and influenced by Detroit, she saw it differently.
“I’m someone who likes playing devil’s advocate, and as a pizza lover who grew up in the area, I had to bring that up,” Peddie said.
She explored the question in a paper, turning to historical newspapers to see what she could find.
“I looked at historical newspapers searching for ‘Windsor pizza’ and got hundreds of results, from the 1970s on,” Peddie said.
The stories ranged from pop sensation Madonna ordering Windsor pizza for her after-parties while performing in Detroit to soldiers in the Vietnam War requesting that pizza be shipped to them from Windsor after seeing an advertisement.
Building on that research, Peddie examined pizza’s role in shaping Windsor’s identity from a business perspective, mushrooming the idea into A Slice of Windsor for the CBHA.
While not her instructor for that class, history professor Dr. Gregg French worked with Peddie on turning this paper into a larger project. He proposed the idea to the CBHA, which was looking to support local history initiatives and provided a $1,500 grant for A Slice of Windsor, which Peddie began developing in November 2025.
“The CBHA will be using the University of Windsor and Windsor-Essex and this project specifically as a starting point to do this across the country,” French said.
“That's one of the many goals of public history: to allow academics to bring history into the public. And rather than just an essay that a few people might read, how do we connect with the community more effectively, and how do we provide opportunities for our students to do that while also telling the story of the space?”
The online project features Peddie’s research into early immigration, the origins of Windsor-style pizza, local pizzerias and what sets the recipe apart. It also includes teaching resources and curricula for high school educators.
“With this project, and when we’re telling local history stories, it’s our opportunity as individuals and groups within this space to project out, this is such an intersectional story,” French said.
“It allows us as individuals who live in Windsor to have that voice and share within the community and beyond so that history continues to be told and understood, and I believe that helps people make sense of who they are in a space while showing that we’re doing something unique and interesting here too.”
The CBHA has encouraged historians in other communities to undertake similar projects, and French said the history department is already working on another initiative supported by the organization, this time examining the archives at Hiram Walker.
French said he looks forward to continuing the work because it brings local stories to the public and gives students valuable hands-on experience.
“We want to expose our students to these experiential learning opportunities. That being a historian is not just one thing; it can be so many things. And along the way, developing these critical thinking and transferable skills that they're going to be able to use in a variety of different fields,” he said.
“I think it speaks to the relationship that exists within the department between engaged students and faculty, and what can really be produced when you have that level of engagement.”
Explore A Slice of Windsor to learn more about the history of Windsor pizza and the people, pizzerias and communities that helped shape the city’s identity.