Emil Coletta founded the original Coletta’s, located on South Parkway, in 1923 under the name “Suburban Ice Cream Company,” where he served homemade ice cream, sandwiches, and pastas. However, as the restaurant’s popularity grew, he changed the emphasis to Italian, which later contributed to Suburban Ice Cream Company’s transformation to the legendary Coletta’s Italian Restaurant. Sailors from the local navy base began requesting pizza be added to the menu, a dish unfamiliar to the surrounding area and only known in New York and Chicago.