Mike grew up at the family table of Deleno Brothers, his uncles’ restaurant in Wappingers Falls, NY. A few miles away in Chelsea, Vicki was raised on Grandma Berinato’s Sunday dinners and called her grandfather by his nickname, “Little Pop.” The two met as teenagers while camping in Hopewell Junction and married in 1991. Mike served in the Army Reserve and built a snow-removal company he later sold to a buyer in Naperville. The family, now with three kids, moved to Illinois, but the business collapsed under new ownership, leaving them starting over. For five years Mike chased jobs while Vicki drove a school bus and kept the family steady.
In 2014, after another layoff, a Florida spring-break stop at a classic New York-style pizzeria reignited their roots. Back home, they discovered a shuttered strip-mall pizzeria in southeast Naperville with the equipment intact and landlord motivated. On June 16, 2014, with grit, faith, and family recipes from nephew Steven and Vicki’s brother Louis (who runs another Little Pop’s in Maybrook, NY), they opened Little Pops to share real mom-and-pop New York pizzeria culture with the Midwest. East Coast transplants found them, word spread, and a neighborhood classic was born.
Our pizza was named “Best New York Pizza in Illinois” by The Washington Post. Dine in our “Streets of New York City”–themed room or relax with a cocktail and meal in the Fuggetaboutit Bar. We serve award-winning New York pizza and East Coast Italian favorites including, calzones, stromboli, specialty rolls, chicken, veal, seafood, fresh pastas, hero sandwiches, and homemade desserts. With a full menu and full-service bar, there’s something for everyone. Mike and Vicki welcome you to the Little Pops Neighborhood and to our family table in Lisle, Illinois.
