If you wake up a Torontonian in the middle of the night and sing “Nine-six-seven…”, they’ll finish the jingle without missing a beat, almost on autopilot: “…eleven-eleven, phone Pizza Pizza, hey, hey, hey!”. This phone number and its catchy tune have become as deeply ingrained in the city’s cultural DNA as the CN Tower or the red TTC streetcars.
But the story of Pizza Pizza is about much more than just a catchy earworm. It’s a textbook example of how a local Toronto business pioneered innovations that the whole world uses today—from the first insulated delivery bags to centralized call centres. Let’s dive into the story of entrepreneur Michael Overs and discover how he built a true empire, brought to you by toronto1.one.
The Beginning: A New Year’s Eve That Changed Everything
The story of Pizza Pizza is inextricably linked to its founder, Michael Overs. Growing up in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood, he started working full-time at just 17. Back then, the local pizza market was highly fragmented. It consisted mostly of small, mom-and-pop restaurants where pizza was seen more as an exotic Italian dish than an everyday meal. While working as an unpaid assistant at a downtown pizzeria, Michael quickly realized two things: people loved the food, but the service and delivery left a lot to be desired.
Taking a leap of faith, Overs opened his first location on New Year’s Eve—December 31, 1967. The tiny 300-square-foot storefront was located at 68 Wellesley Street East, right at the corner of Parliament Street in Cabbagetown.
Armed with limited capital but a massive drive to succeed, Overs manned the oven, took the orders, and developed the recipes all by himself. He knew that to survive the competition, he had to offer something completely unique. That “something” turned out to be customer service.
Right from the get-go, his business model was radically different. While traditional restaurants banked on dine-in seating, Overs realized that delivery was the future. In the company’s early years, a staggering 90% of all orders were delivered straight to customers’ doors.
Cancelling Cold Pizza: A World-Class Invention
When your business relies almost entirely on delivery, time and cold weather become your biggest enemies. In the 1960s, couriers transported pizzas in standard cardboard boxes. Given our harsh Canadian winters, customers often received a freezing slab of dough with congealed cheese instead of a piping hot dinner.
Michael Overs was constantly on the hunt for a solution. He reached out to a local furniture upholsterer, and together they developed a prototype that changed the food service industry forever. They created one of the world’s first insulated thermal bags for pizza delivery.
This innovation allowed Pizza Pizza to guarantee that their product would arrive hot at the customer’s doorstep. Today, these thermal bags seem like a no-brainer—used by everyone from UberEats to SkipTheDishes—but the concept was born right here in Toronto.
A Marketing Revolution: The Magic of 967-11-11
In the 1970s, ordering food meant flipping through the phone book to find the closest restaurant. If the line was busy, you stayed hungry. If you called the wrong neighbourhood, they might refuse to deliver to you.
As the chain began to expand, Overs realized that the key to delivery success was making the ordering process absolutely effortless. He invested what was then a massive amount of money into a centralized call centre. Pizza Pizza became one of the first companies globally to implement a single phone number for all its locations. It didn’t matter where you were in the city; you didn’t have to hunt for the nearest branch. You simply dialed 967-11-11.
The call centre took the order and instantly dispatched it to the kitchen closest to the customer. It was an early prototype of modern cloud-based logistics platforms, implemented decades before the invention of the internet.
This phone number didn’t just streamline logistics; it became a massive brand asset. The company produced its famous jingle, which played non-stop on the radio and television. As a result, the sequence 967-1111 became so deeply etched into Canadian minds that Pizza Pizza officially trademarked it. Later on, the chain adapted this approach for other cities, snapping up local numbers ending in “11-11” to keep the rhythm of the tune alive.
Innovations Ahead of Their Time
Michael Overs wasn’t just a cook; he was a tech visionary. While other pizzerias were still jotting down orders on scrap paper, he was rolling out computerized systems. By the 1980s, Pizza Pizza had developed its own proprietary dispatch system, routing orders to the nearest location to minimize delivery times.
It was Overs who introduced the famous “30 minutes or it’s free” guarantee. This was a risky move that demanded flawless logistics. The promise became legendary, forcing the entire industry to keep up with the pace set by Pizza Pizza. Although this practice was later scrapped due to driver safety concerns, it had already successfully cemented the brand’s dominance in the market.
Another stroke of genius from Overs was the “Two for One” concept. He knew Canadian families loved a good deal, so he started offering two pizzas for a price just slightly higher than one. This drove massive group orders and made Pizza Pizza an absolute staple at kids’ birthdays, university parties, and office lunches.
Building an Empire Through Franchising
Michael Overs was a strong believer in the franchise model, but he approached it with extreme scrutiny. He wasn’t just selling the rights to a name—he was building a network of partners. Overs personally vetted candidates, demanding sheer dedication and strict adherence to his quality standards.
He designed a unique system where the head office handled all marketing and logistics. This allowed franchise owners to focus entirely on making great pizza and serving customers. It was a formula that enabled rapid scaling. By the 1990s, Pizza Pizza had expanded beyond Toronto, blanketing all of Ontario and eventually branching into Quebec and the western provinces (bolstered by the acquisition of the Pizza 73 chain).
The Battle of the Brands: Why Little Caesars Stays Quiet in Canada
Protecting intellectual property and brand identity is another area where the Toronto company showed serious grit. The name “Pizza Pizza” turned out to be so successful that it sparked a rather amusing legal precedent.
The famous American pizza chain Little Caesars uses the global catchphrase: “Pizza! Pizza!”. However, when the US giant tried to break into the Canadian market, it hit a legal brick wall. Because the Canadian company had already trademarked the name, Little Caesars was legally barred from using its most iconic slogan on Canadian soil. That’s exactly why, if you watch their Canadian commercials, you’ll hear workarounds like “Two Pizzas!” or “Hot ’N’ Ready!”, but never the original catchphrase. It was an undisputed victory for a local business over a multinational corporation.
Adapting to Modern Demands
Surviving in the hyper-competitive fast-food market for over 50 years takes more than just a catchy jingle. The company consistently invested in technology. As the era of phone calls started to fade, Pizza Pizza became one of the first in Canada to launch a mobile ordering app for the iPhone. The app was so user-friendly and innovative that it took home a prestigious international Webby Award.
The menu itself evolved, too:
- Health-conscious choices. Pizza Pizza was one of the first major chains in its category to eliminate artificial trans fats, colours, and flavours from its menu.
- Gluten-free and vegan options. The company was quick to respond to the changing dietary needs of Canadians. They rolled out gluten-free crusts long before it became a mainstream trend, and in 2019, they added plant-based meat alternatives to their lineup.
The Man Behind the Scenes
Despite his massive success, Michael Overs remained an incredibly humble and private person. He rarely gave interviews and steered clear of the spotlight. Colleagues remembered him as a workaholic who might randomly show up at any of his locations at 2:00 AM just to check the quality of the dough or the cleanliness of the kitchen.
He believed in the little things. Rumour has it he could spend hours debating the exact thickness of pepperoni slices or tweaking a box design for better heat retention. For him, Pizza Pizza wasn’t just a cash cow; it was his life’s work, something he nurtured for over 40 years.
Legacy and Pizza Pizza Today
Michael Overs passed away in 2010 at the age of 70. His death marked the end of an era, but certainly not the end of his empire. The reins were handed over to his son-in-law, Paul Griffiths, who continued to grow the business while staying true to the founder’s original principles.
Today, Pizza Pizza boasts over 750 locations across the country. The company continues to lead in innovation, having been among the first to introduce mobile ordering apps and eco-friendly packaging. Yet, the heart of the company remains firmly planted in Toronto—right where, on a cold New Year’s Eve, a young man decided that the people of this city deserved better pizza delivery.
Why Does This Story Matter to Toronto?
The story of Michael Overs is the classic embodiment of the “Canadian Dream.” It’s a tale of how a single idea, backed by an unbelievable work ethic, can change the face of a metropolis. Overs didn’t just build a business—he built an infrastructure of convenience for millions of people.
For Toronto, Pizza Pizza is more than just food. It’s the memories of late-night cram sessions, celebrating victories for our favourite sports teams, and those family dinners when nobody felt like cooking. And in every one of those moments, Michael Overs is quietly present—the man who taught Toronto to love pizza through one short phone number.
Today, walking past that exact same pizzeria on Parliament Street where it all began, you can still catch the spirit of that old Toronto from 1967. The city has changed, the skyscrapers have shot up higher, and the pace of life has sped up, but Pizza Pizza remains a constant. And that is perhaps the greatest monument to Michael Overs: the entrepreneur who got an entire city singing his pizzeria’s phone number.