Mike's Famous Pizza Spans a Recipe of 45 Years

Charlie Kampamelas first bought Mike’s Famous Pizza in Norton 15 years ago, and when he got there he changed everything but the pizza.

“The people before me were making pizza for 35 years, so I figured it must good,” he said.

The original owner, who was named Mike, first opened up shop in Norton in 1968.

Kampamelas came over to the U.S. from Greece, and started as a dishwasher. In 1980 he bought his first restaurant in Stoughton called the Sherwood Restaurant. In 1998, his friend told him that Mike was retiring and looking to sell.

“He said he was interested in selling the business. I made a deal and now here I am,” he said.

He felt it was important to leave his mark on the business, especially with the amount of time he puts into it.

“It’s hard work, 24/7, that makes you successful,” he said. “You have to be married to this business to be successful at it.”

He was working in American cuisine almost exclusively for the last 40 years and he’s brought that to Mike’s Pizza.

“I’ve changed my fare a lot throughout my life,” he said. “You usually work with what people ask for and sometimes you just create things by accident.”

Kampamelas said the strangest thing someone’s ever asked him for came from across the pond.

“A regular customer came in with a friend from England,” he said. “He wanted tuna and cherries. That’s the weirdest things I’ve ever made.”

His own experimentation usually involves recipes from his home country of Greece.

“I came up with Greek steak tips and shrimp,” he said. “The most important thing is the quality of the ingredients you put into them.”

Kampamelas said he’s worked in restaurants that were upscale, downscale and everywhere in between.

“I used to own a five-star restaurant, and it was a bit more exclusive than a pizza place,” he said. “But Norton is a very good town, I’ve made a lot of friends here. It’s like Cheers here at Mike’s. We have a lot of regulars. Most of them are blue collar working class people and I really love them.”

Kampamelas sponsors local youth sports and donates to the schools as much as he can, as well as the Norton Special Olympics program.

Mike’s Pizza is located on 105 Taunton Ave. and is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.