Giacomo Falluca, CEO of Palermo’s Pizza, on Legacy, Grit, and Leading with Heart.
“Unbelievable.”
That’s how Giacomo Falluca starts every conversation.
It’s his way of pulling people in—making them wonder, Is that good? Bad? What’s the story?
It’s a disarming word.
And after sitting down with him, it feels exactly right.
Giacomo’s story begins where so many don’t: not in a boardroom, not in a classroom, but behind a bakery counter.
As a child growing up around 51st and Capitol and later Milwaukee’s east side, he was immersed in his family’s bakery and restaurant.
Giacomo’s mentors weren’t just relatives—they were the reps, lawyers, and insurance people who shaped the backbone of his father’s business.
“I grew up with his whole team,” Giacomo recalls. “He didn’t call it a team—but that’s what it was.”
At 17, while most teens were trying to figure out prom dates, Giacomo’s father handed him a plan for a frozen pizza company sketched on the back of an envelope.
“We’re gonna do a million dollars our first year. Ten percent profit. What do you think?”
Giacomo’s answer?
“Sounds good to me.”
He never looked back.
But the journey wasn’t without challenges.
By the mid-90s, expansion was eating into profitability, and his bank began applying pressure.
“They didn’t understand our business,” Giacomo says. “It really challenged us. But it forced us to ask better questions. It taught us discipline.”
Eventually, they moved to a bank that did understand business, and the company thrived.
Even with his success, Giacomo’s perspective is grounded and deeply personal.
When asked what success looks like now, he doesn’t only talk about profits or pizza volume.
He talks about his kids. About being present.
“Am I a good father? Am I interested in their life?” he asks.
“His other lens for success: the business has to stand on its own.”
And when reflecting on what he’d tell his younger self, Giacomo doesn’t hesitate: “Spend more time working on the business, not just in it.”
It’s the kind of advice that only comes after years of keeping your head down—until one day you finally look up and see the mountain you’ve climbed.
This is Giacomo Falluca.
Unbelievable?
Yes.
But in all the right ways.