Rocco's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Gillespie

Sometime in the '60s, or maybe even earlier, a family of Sicilians opened Roma's Pizza in East Gillespie. Some time in the '70s they moved to Macoupin St. And they moved again to another location on Macoupin St. at least a couple more times.

Some time in the late '80s or early '90s, they went back to Sicily. And they sold their pizza restaurant which is still in business, right across the street from Rocco's. However, the pizza wasn't the same. It wasn't even close to what the Sicilians delivered.

Some of the Romas' family are still operating a Roma's Pizza in Bethalto, IL. And their pizza is like the original Roma's in Gillespie—very good.

I don't know exactly when Rocco's opened up, because I left Gillespie in 1994. But I go back to visit every now and then. And I discovered Rocco's. I talked to them, and I believe they said they was also from Sicily. And they knew the family that used to own Roma's Pizza here.

I was pleasantly surprised with their pizza. It brought me back to the '60s—'80s Roma's, which had a unique and fresh flavor. All the old-timers in Gillespie know this flavor. Now Rocco's has it down pretty good. It might not be exact, because I'm sure that over the years, the base ingredients have changed. Such as flour; it's all hybridized and enriched with synthetic nutrients.

Rocco's also has St. Louis style pizzas. So if you don't want to go to the nearest Imo's, you can get a damn good one here.

Whenever I want pizza in Gillespie, I...

Fast, pleasant and delicious. Definitely love their buffalo wings and garlic breadsticks. 🤤

Editing to update: we've stopped ordering from here after their delivery woman complained I never tipped. I told her I always added a $15 tip to my payment and clearly told them each time it was my driver's tip. She apparently wanted to argue with me instead of take it up with whomever took my orders, so I just stopped ordering all together. I definitely got the extra $15 charge each time, so if she wasn't getting her money, that's not my fault and she shouldn't be coming at customers for it either. We used to order from them pretty much every Friday/Saturday. Haven't ordered from them in 2 years because of the...

When did Rocco's get so crappy? Their pizza arrived cold & uncut & their breadsticks container was splattered all over their breadstick box when it arrived. Then the driver didn't have any change on her & expected me to give her a whole $40 for a $26 order. 🤦‍♀️ Oh my.. -5 / 5 stars. We'll be sticking with Roma's...