The Midwest Pizza Chain That's A Favorite In The Cornhusker State

Headquartered in the state capital, Lincoln, Nebraska, Valentino's may not be as well known nationally as its fellow Cornhusker State-based pizza chain, Godfather's, but it's beloved in its corner of the Midwest. It has been since founders Val and Zena Weiler converted their fruit market to a pizzeria in 1957. Zena's original family recipe made the risky business move worth it by quickly drawing crowds.

Members of the Messineo and Alesio families purchased Valentino's in 1971 with plans to expand the business beyond the single restaurant. Carry-out-only locations began to open in the early 1990s. Today, Valentino's not only operates To-Go, Express, and Grand Italian Buffet locations across Nebraska but also has restaurants in Kansas and South Dakota. The four Grand Italian Buffets (all within Nebraska) offer a wide variety of unique buffet tables such as a pizza bar, pasta bar, Italian bakery, Italian favorites, and more. It just might be one of the most underrated buffet restaurants in the U.S. 

All-you-can-eat buffets have declined in popularity across the U.S., but Valentino's Grand Italian Buffets still delight patrons who hold the exclusively Midwest restaurant chain close to their hearts. Customers praise the wide variety of offerings, both Italian favorites and more traditional American fare, making it a choice destination for families and large groups. Diners also gave shout-outs to one specific Midwestern favorite included in the buffets, broasted chicken, a patented style of pressure-cooked fried chicken invented in Wisconsin around the same time Valentino's was cooking up its first pizzas.

Although the restaurants clearly aren't dedicated gluten-free facilities, several Valentino's patrons have lauded the gluten-free pizzas. One Yelp reviewer called Valentino's Grand Italian Buffet "the best place to stop in Nebraska City that has gluten-free options, hands down." When ordering a gluten-free pizza at the buffet, the customer gets first dibs before staff add it to the buffet table. The gluten-free crust is thinner than the regular pizzas and costs more, but everything else is the same as the original pies, so the experience is quite similar.