Toronto’s favourite family-owned and operated pizza franchise, Pizza Nova, shows that when it comes to giving back, sharing is caring
By Joelle Kidd
When looking for sharable food, pizza is the go-to—which anyone who’s needed to feed a crowd will understand. As a dish, pizza is all about sharing: cut into slices and passed among friends and family who bite in with a smile.
So it makes sense that Pizza Nova, the prominent franchise brand founded by the Primucci family in 1963, has for a motto: “Share the Love.” Albeit this phrase is about more than just passing around the pizza box.
“The motto guides everything from community engagement to charitable giving and franchisee support,” explains Domenic Primucci, president of Pizza Nova. “It reflects the belief that success is meant to be shared.”
When it comes to sharing that success, Pizza Nova has done so by giving back to the communities it serves through charitable partnerships, fundraising events, and local initiatives. This includes the “That’s Amore Pizza for Kids” campaign, which has so far raised more than $2.9 million to help children with disabilities.
A dip-dive into giving
It started as a one-day event with an in-store pizza promotion. The That’s Amore Pizza for Kids campaign began in 1999 as a partnership between Pizza Nova and Variety – The Children’s Charity of Ontario. The longstanding campaign expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic into a month-long promotion: for every dip purchased at participating Pizza Nova locations in the month of May, 50 cents is donated to Variety.
Over the past 26 years, these fundraising efforts have resulted in a whopping sum of over $2.9 million dollars raised for Variety, who offers support to children with disabilities through sports and play programs, summer camps, life skills programming, and more.
Since 2021, the month-long promotion has been a hit with Pizza Nova customers, who can participate by adding one of the brand’s 12 dip and sauce options to their order. “In 2025, customers helped set a record-breaking total of $231,045,” says Primucci, which, he adds, is proof of customers’ ongoing enthusiasm and connection to the cause. “Many Pizza Nova customers have made participation in the campaign a yearly tradition, with some supporting it since its early years.”
The 2025 campaign—marking the fundraiser’s 26th year—reached its highest single-year total of funds raised. The brand also added a new promotion, a pop-up pizza shop at the Variety Village Café. “Every Thursday throughout May, visitors could purchase fresh cheese or pepperoni pizza slices, along with a selection of delicious dips, with proceeds supporting the campaign,” says Primucci.
Primucci attributes the popularity of the campaign to the way in which its mission of helping children with disabilities resonates strongly with families, schools, and other local communities, “fostering a sense of shared purpose between Pizza Nova and its customer base.” Customers are proud to contribute to something meaningful, he adds.
In 2022, Pizza Nova was recognized for its contributions when Variety unveiled the new lobby for Variety Village, its landmark facility in the east end of Toronto, which it had named the “Primucci Pavilion.” The newly renovated space includes a 22-foot by 10-foot mural depicting children at play in front of the Toronto skyline, emblazoned with the Pizza Nova motto: “Share the Love.” Clearly, the message is an inspiring one.
As Primucci puts it, “The campaign isn’t just a fundraiser—it’s a reflection of the values that Pizza Nova shares with its customers: compassion, community, and care for children.”
Franchisee philanthropy
Primucci’s father, Sam Primucci, founded the brand in the ’60s with his three brothers. The family business started as a full-service restaurant in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. Over the following decades, the brand grew and gained a reputation as a local go-to, with a loyal fan base of Toronto pizza lovers (it now boasts nearly 150 locations). But giving back has been the brand’s secret sauce since the beginning, says Primucci.
“Pizza Nova’s passion for giving back stems from a genuine connection to the communities it serves,” he says.
In addition to the That’s Amore campaign, the Primucci family and Pizza Nova donated $1 million to the Scarborough Health Network Foundation to support diagnostic imaging and healthcare access. As a result, Scarborough Health Network (SHN) in February of this year unveiled the Sam & Gemma Primucci and Family Computed Tomography Unit at the new Northpine Diagnostic Imaging Department. The milestone is a reflection of the Primucci family’s deep commitment to and appreciation for the community where their dreams of founding a pizza restaurant were born.
Through the Coins for Breakfast program and partnerships with Student Nutrition Ontario, YMCA, and other organizations, Pizza Nova helps fund school meal programs as well (the brand donated $28,767 in its most recent installment in April 2024 through the Coins for Breakfast program alone, and has contributed $239,509 to Student Nutrition Ontario since the start of their partnership). Pizza Nova has also contributed more than $5 million to other community organizations including SickKids (Toronto’s children’s hospital), Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, and Villa Charities. The partnership with Villa Charities spans more than 27 years, Primucci notes, and the brand has raised more than $765,000 for the organization.
“Franchisees are always willing to support these initiatives,” Primucci notes. “They take pride in supporting local communities through their work.” Many of the brand’s franchisees participate in the campaigns year after year and bring in their own local initiatives as well. “We’re delighted to have such incredible partners who support Pizza Nova’s initiatives and recognize their value,” says Primucci. He attributes this to “a culture where franchisees, staff, and even customers feel empowered and proud to be part of giving back.”
Even new store openings are seen as a chance to give back. With every new location, Pizza Nova holds a fundraiser for a local charity, along with special customer appreciation events.
“When the newest Hamilton, [Ontario] location opened this past June, all Hamilton locations participated in a customer celebration event,” says Primucci. Medium cheese and pepperoni pizzas were on sale for $5.99, with $1 from each sale donated to Hamilton Food Share. “The campaign donated $2,500 to the local charity from this 1-day event.”
Baked-in values
When asked why the brand has such a passion for giving back, Primucci says it all stems back to the brand’s core values. “Giving is a core pillar of Pizza Nova’s culture, leadership, and legacy.” The values at the heart of the brand are “community, family, and service,” and these values “extend beyond business and into a philosophy of supporting the people and neighbourhoods that support [us].”
Sometimes this entails province-wide campaigns raising hundreds of thousands of dollars; sometimes it takes the form of smaller, local causes that make a big impact in franchisee communities, like in-kind donations, sponsorships to grassroots charities, community events, and local fundraisers.
For Primucci, the reason for all this giving is simple: “It’s at the heart of who we are.”
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