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Palermo's Pizza celebrating 60 years in operation

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Palermo's Pizza celebrating 60 years in operation


MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s own Palermo’s Pizza is expanding. The company will start building a new 200,000 square-foot facility this summer in West Milwaukee. 


What You Need To Know

  • Palermo’s Pizza was founded by Italian immigrants in the 1950s
  • It’s expanding into a new 200,000 square-foot facility this summer
  • That means the company is hiring for 50 new positions

It will allow Palermo’s to grow its production capacity and add 50 new jobs. This comes as the family-owned business is celebrating 60 years in operation. 

Founded by Italian immigrants in the 1950s, Palermo’s Pizza has deep roots in Milwaukee, family and tradition.

“My grandparents came over from Italy with nothing in their pocket,” said Nick Falluca, chief product and innovation officer at Palermo’s.

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He said they worked hard and eventually turned some of their favorite Italian recipes into a business.

In 1964, the Falluca family opened a bakery out of a house on Milwaukee’s East Side. Four years later, they transitioned that bakery into an Italian restaurant. That’s where the family began offering their signature frozen pizzas for customers to buy and make at home. From there, they started selling those frozen pizzas at local grocery stores and bars.

Decades later, Palermo’s Pizza has grown into a national and international brand, selling millions of pizzas each year at major retailers, like Costco. Despite its growth, Palermo’s remains committed to its roots and values.

Still, every one of its frozen pizzas ties back to grandma and grandpa.

“We’d be at the dinner table, and everybody would be like, ‘Why is he screaming?’ And we would be like, ‘No, that’s just how grandpa talks,’” Falluca said. “He was loud and vibrant. That’s how the name ‘Screaming Sicilian’ came about.” 

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Dax Schaefer is the corporate chef for Palermo’s, and Brianna Fyock is a manager and senior food scientist for the company. They both said while they are not related to the Falluca family by blood, anyone who works for Palermo’s is treated like family.

“The Falluca family has been nothing but generous to their employees,” Schaefer said.

“It really does feel like family here,” Fyock added. “To actually see the start to finish, from the idea of a pizza to creation, and then be able to buy it for your family in a grocery store, is such a great experience.”

Falluca said prioritizing the customer, employees and a quality product also comes from grandpa.

“That’s how he ran the restaurant, putting the customer first, really great food, and focusing on your employees,” Falluca said. “That’s how to create a great business, product and customer service.”

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Milwaukee, WI

Storms expected bring heavy rain to Milwaukee this weekend, severe weather possible

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Storms expected bring heavy rain to Milwaukee this weekend, severe weather possible


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Milwaukee’s weekend revelers should plan to pack an umbrella, that’s because the latest forecast from the National Weather Service shows a potential for severe weather and heavy rains on Friday and Saturday.

The latest projections from the NWS show scattered thunderstorms are expected to occur as a warm front from the south travels north through the state on Friday. Friday’s potential for severe weather, while low, could bring damaging wind, small hail and heavy rains.

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“For downtown Milwaukee, we are looking at the potential for isolated thunderstorms and showers through the afternoon hours.,” said Michaela Heeren, a meteorologist at the local NWS office in Sullivan. “Going into the evening, that’s going to bring the potential for the (severe weather.)”

The peak of the storms are expected to occur in the late afternoon to early evening, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the storms are forecast to end by 9 p.m., according to the NWS.

Heeren said that Milwaukee is forecast for up to an inch of rain on Friday, with rates potentially reaching one inch per hour if conditions are met.

The NWS rates Milwaukee and other parts of southeastern and eastern Milwaukee as rated at a one-out-of-five chance for severe weather. To the west, in central and western Wisconsin, the NWS forecasts a two-out-of-five chance.

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There is uncertainty with how powerful the storms will develop, because of the lack of instability in the environment, Heeren said.

“Our environment is a little bit weaker than what we prefer for a typical severe set up, we don’t have a lot of ingredients to keep storms alive long enough to produce significant severe weather,” she said.

On Saturday, the NWS forecasts another round of potential severe weather that will bring even more rain.

That system is forming behind a cold weather front traveling southeast across the state and brings a one out of five risk for severe weather to Milwaukee.

However, the rest of the state will be in a two out of five rating, with Heeren describing it was “more traditional” severe weather conditions. Saturday’s conditions will bring a chance of damaging wind, large hail, heavy rain and a small chance of tornadoes.

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Through Saturday, the NWS forecasts up to 1.5 inches of rain for Milwaukee.



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Milwaukee, WI

Pursuit of Milwaukee carjacking suspects ends with police shooting 2 teens in stolen vehicle

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Pursuit of Milwaukee carjacking suspects ends with police shooting 2 teens in stolen vehicle


A police pursuit of carjacking suspects in Milwaukee ended with police firing into the vehicle, injuring two teens, one of whom was pregnant and lost her baby

MILWAUKEE — A police pursuit of carjacking suspects in Milwaukee ended Thursday with police firing into the vehicle and injuring two teens, one of whom was pregnant and lost her baby, Milwaukee police said.

Officers tried to stop the stolen vehicle just before 2:30 p.m. on Interstate 43 north of Milwaukee. The pursuit ended when the driver moved into a construction lane and the vehicle was blocked by construction work and a cement truck, Police Chief Jeffrey B. Norman said.

Police officers ordered the driver to stop and ordered the passengers out of the vehicle, but the driver twice backed into a marked SWAT car, once while an officer was standing behind it. Another officer fired shots into the vehicle, injuring an 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, Norman said.

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The woman suffered life-threatening injuries and “unfortunately, the baby did not survive,” Norman said at a news conference.

The 17-year-old has serious injuries, he said.

A total of six suspects were in the vehicle, which had been stolen, Norman said. The other four, who range in age from 15 to 18, were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

The officer involved is a 25-year-old man with over four years of service. He was placed on administrative duty, which is routine in an officer involved shooting, Norman said.

The suspects were being pursued in connection with an armed robbery and carjacking and an attempted armed robbery and carjacking. A gun was found in the vehicle, Norman said.

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Milwaukee, WI

Biden campaign: Milwaukee Democratic leaders slam Trump for trashing Wisconsin’s most diverse city

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Biden campaign: Milwaukee Democratic leaders slam Trump for trashing Wisconsin’s most diverse city


Today, State Representative Kalan Haywood and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley held a press conference slamming Donald Trump for insulting Milwaukee and highlighting the RNC’s abandoned outreach to minority communities. The press conference was held at a local brewery that is now selling their “(not so) Horrible City” IPA after Trump disparaged Milwaukee.

The press conference follows reports that Donald Trump called Milwaukee “horrible” in a closed-door meeting last week and then planned to avoid spending time in Wisconsin’s most diverse city by staying at Trump Tower in Chicago during the Republican National Convention.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaking at the press conference

State Representative Kalan Haywood speaking at the press conference

“Here’s the truth: Donald Trump looks down on Milwaukee, on Wisconsin, on anyone who isn’t one of his billionaire donors. If he bothered to come to Milwaukee and actually listen to or respect voters here, he’d learn that we are fed up with his efforts to strip away reproductive rights from women, to raise health care costs for working families, to cut the Social Security and Medicare our moms and dads rely on,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “President Biden would never disparage this city. He loves us, he respects us, and more than that, he’s a decent man. A person of character, who wants to be a president for all Americans – including Wisconsinites. So, to Trump, I say, ‘You think our city is so horrible? This November, we’re going to send you packing – just like we did in 2020.’”

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“Our Black and Latino communities are what make us strong – and this November, it will be us who decide the presidential election here in Wisconsin, and likely in the country as a whole. So, when Trump called our city ‘horrible’ in a closed-door meeting with MAGA Republicans last week, we knew what that was. Yet another racist dog whistle,” said State Representative Kalan Haywood. “Trump ignoring our communities was already insulting – and then he went and actually insulted our city. I’ll be voting for President Biden, and I know I’m not the only one who’s fed up with Trump’s racist attacks.”

“When I heard about Donald Trump calling my city ‘horrible’ last week, I was not just surprised, but truly shocked and angered by this. It’s enough that he is so terrible on all the issues that matter to me – protecting Social Security and Medicare, creating good jobs and strengthening the economy, safeguarding our democracy. But to also disrespect us? It’s just adding insult to injury,” said Sabrina Jordan, Biden-Harris 2024 volunteer. “I think he fears the coalition we formed in 2020 – the one that roundly rejected him and is the reason he lost that year. He recognizes the strength of the city he dismisses as ‘horrible,’ and is deeply afraid of it.”

While Trump tries to get away with spending as little time as possible in Wisconsin, the Biden-Harris campaign, Democrats, and the DNC are building the infrastructure to win with over 100 staff on the ground and 47 coordinated campaign offices across the state. Unlike Trump, Team Biden-Harris loves Milwaukee – for the first time in 20 years, the Democratic Coordinated HQ is based in Milwaukee, underscoring the importance of key constituencies in the city, including minority voters.

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