Mineo’s Pizza House will soon cut a fourth slice of their pie. And this one will most likely reach higher than the other three.
The family business is expanding to the Pittsburgh International Airport.
Construction begins in early 2025.
The fourth shop will be located at the food court in the Airside Terminal. Four-cut personal size pizzas will be available for dining in or to go on one of the 62 total destinations, including several international flights.
“Mineo’s definitely fit what we were looking for,” said John Brennan, director of commercial programs at the Allegheny Airport Authority, which manages the Pittsburgh International Airport. “We have Primanti’s, with its unmatched sandwiches; Marathon Diner, with its classic dishes; and now Mineo’s with its iconic pizza.”
It was Brennan’s idea to welcome local businesses and create Pittsburgh-centric food options. Part of his plan was to include a pizza shop.
He said he considered more than a dozen options.
“Having local businesses represented for travelers is wonderful,” said Giovanni Mineo Jr., who took over ownership of the business with his brother, Dominic Mineo, from their father and founder, Giovanni Mineo Sr., in the early 1990s.
Giovanni Mineo Sr. was an immigrant from a small town in Sicily near Palermo. He dreamed of coming to America and starting his own business.
In 1958, he took a Squirrel Hill streetcar and found an empty storefront on Murray Avenue.
That’s where the first pie was made.
Mineo’s expanded to locations in Mt. Lebanon in 1994 and Hampton in 2022.
Giovanni Jr.’s son, Giovanni Mineo III, and Dominic Mineo’s children, John Dante “J.D.” Mineo and Elissa Mineo Filson and her husband, Shawn Filson, have continued the legacy that Giovanni Mineo Sr. started.
A menu is being crafted for the airport space.
The newest location will be managed via a joint venture of the Mineo family and the entity of Marathon Diner, which has been at the airport for decades. All of the homemade Mineo’s recipes and fresh ingredients will remain the same.
The Pittsburgh International Airport has 5 million passengers departing and arriving annually and is continuing to grow with the new terminal opening later in 2025.
“Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal is for Pittsburgh by Pittsburghers,” said Brennan, via Blue Sky News, the airport’s publication.
Other local businesses opening retail locations in 2025 include Wexford-based coffee and tea house Café Conmigo and Champion City Sports.
Mineo’s will have both quick service and a sit-down bar with wine, spirits and beer including Mineo’s signature brew, “What’s a Matta You?”
“This is very exciting,” said Giovanni Mineo III. “I am calling this my baby.”
“We are excited to bring a taste of Pittsburgh pizza to the Pittsburgh airport and all the millions of travelers who come through the airport,” said Shawn Filson. “You can sit at the airport and enjoy it or take it with you wherever you go.”
Brennan said it’s important to partner with the Janis family, which owns Marathon Diner. Their experience as operators in airport concessionaires dates back 35 years.
Andrew Janis, owner of Marathon Diner, said via text that he and his wife are “extremely honored to partner with the Mineo family in this exciting and transformative new venture, which will offer travelers one of Pittsburgh’s most iconic brands and the best quality airport pizza in the world.”
“We want to continue the legacy of my grandfather,” Giovanni Mineo III said. “I know he is looking down on us seeing his dream soar higher than he ever could have imagined.”