Mary’s History

In 1959, Mary Fazio opened the original Shack, using her father’s recipes and her home kitchen’s pots and pans. Mary created a warm and cozy place where friends and family gathered to enjoy her home-cooked meals. She made everything from scratch, from pizza dough to soups, pasta sauces to salad dressings. Mary’s Italian comfort food kept her friends returning to the Shack again and again. Mary pioneered the “open kitchen” concept so she could greet each guest as they walked through the door, and keep a watchful eye to make sure no one left hungry.

Over sixty years later, we still use the recipes, ingredients, love and care that we learned from Mary. Our company is still owned and operated by the family—the third generation handles the day-to-day running of the business in roles ranging from CEO to spearheading our charitable giving. Mary’s great-grandchildren can be found around the corner learning the ropes in our restaurants, as well as on the air starring in our radio ads. And, of course, Toto and Peggy are still keeping a keen eye on the business—after all it has their mother’s name on it!

Mary’s family extends well beyond the branches of our family tree. We are proud that many of our crew members have spent their entire careers here, they are a huge part of the family too. Some of our employees have worked for us for over thirty years, helping us keep Mary’s spirit and culture alive and thriving in our restaurants. We invite you to come in and experience it for yourself; there’s always room in our family!