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If you’ve ever ordered pizza in Saskatchewan, you’ve probably noticed it’s a little different from what you’ll find elsewhere.
For one Moose Jaw family, that style of pizza has been part of their story for more than 50 years.
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The Iatridis family’s restaurant roots date back to 1963, but 1974 marked an important moment when they bought the first Rodos Pizza at what is now the Rexall Drugs location.
From that original location, the family’s Rodos operation kept growing. A South Hill location opened in 1976, followed by a Regina location around 1981 and another Moose Jaw location on the highway in 1984. All of them served Saskatchewan-style pizza.
So, what exactly makes it Saskatchewan-style?
For starters, it’s considerably thicker than many other types of pizza.
It’s also layered, with plenty of cheese and toppings packed onto the crust.
And then there’s the distinctive cut.
“These are cut in squares as opposed to triangles because they’re too thick,” John Iatridis, the owner of The Mad Greek, explained. “If you were to try and cut this in a triangle and you pick it up, everything would fall out because the toppings are so thick.”
It’s also a pizza that can be a meal in itself.
A large Saskatchewan-style pizza can feed four adults, according to the longtime restaurant operator.
A pizza worth travelling for
For the next generation of the family, growing up around the restaurants meant seeing firsthand how much people loved the pizza.
Customers ordered pizzas to take home across the country, with some asking the restaurant to freeze them so they could take them by plane as Christmas gifts. Truckers passing through Moose Jaw would also pick up pizzas to take with them, sometimes as far as the West Coast, East Coast or even California.
The affection for Saskatchewan-style pizza isn’t limited to former Saskatchewan residents, either.
One of Iatridis’ favourite memories comes from former NHL player Chris Chelios.
Chelios, who had a connection to the local Greek community, became familiar with the family and would regularly visit the restaurant when he was younger.
Years later, when Moose Jaw celebrated Chelios with a special night at the hockey arena, he returned to the restaurant.
His first request?
Ten large pizzas for himself and his former teammates at the hotel.
The family took the pizzas to the hotel, and the reaction has become one of his favourite stories.
Chelios grabbed a pizza, moved off to the side and took a bite.
When asked how it was, he delivered an enthusiastic verdict: he had been waiting decades to find a pizza like it.
For a family that has spent generations making the pizza, moments like that help explain why the style has developed such a loyal following.
More than one city
For the Iatridis family, however, another part of the story matters.
It’s not simply about where Saskatchewan-style pizza is popular. It’s about recognizing the people and communities that helped create and develop it.
“I’ve heard everything from Greek style to, obviously, we hear Regina-style all the time, which irritates me,” Iatridis said. “It’s a Saskatchewan thing from what I know.”
Iatridis said he believes the Saskatchewan style developed locally, particularly around Moose Jaw, Regina and other communities beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He credited his father, Gus, and his uncles George, Nick, and Jim, as well as Chris and Nick, with playing a role in the family’s contribution to Saskatchewan’s pizza history.
He also said plenty of other pioneers across the province did the same thing.
That’s why the term “Regina-style” doesn’t sit particularly well with him.
“Hearing Regina style just kind of rubs me the wrong way a little bit because there’s a lot of people, not just my family, that did this in other centres of the province that should be getting recognition for this too,” he said.
He isn’t claiming Moose Jaw invented the style, either.
“There are some big pioneers for this product in Regina and stuff too,” he said. “But it was farther out than Regina, I’ll just say that. Some of them here were doing it before some of these other places even existed.”
For him, “Saskatchewan-style” better reflects the broader history.
Perhaps the best evidence is that Rodos still operates today.
More than 50 years after the family bought its first location, the restaurant remains in family hands, with his brother and cousin still running it.
“I mean, it’s still the same family that opened it in 1974, which is pretty incredible in a city this size,” he said.
It’s a legacy that goes beyond pizza.
It’s a family story, a Moose Jaw story and, he argues, a Saskatchewan story.
Whether you call it Saskatchewan-style, Greek-style or Regina-style, one thing is hard to dispute: the thick, square-cut, heavily loaded pizza became popular across the province and has developed a devoted following.
People are still willing to travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres for another taste.
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