Colorado's New York Pizza — Since 1977
It started with a college student, a trip to New York, and a sauce recipe that hasn't changed since.
The Origin
A Boulder Student, Rocky Graziano, and the Best Sauce in Colorado
In the early 1970s, students at the University of Colorado in Boulder found themselves constantly craving something they couldn't find anywhere in Colorado: a real New York-style pizza. Not a national chain approximation. The real thing — hand-tossed, deck-oven baked, with a sauce that tasted like it came from a New York kitchen.
Steve Abo was one of those students. So he went to New York to find it.
During his time in New York, Steve landed an internship at a pizzeria with a genuine pedigree — connected to Rocky Graziano, the legendary middleweight boxing champion and cultural institution. It was there he learned the craft and, more importantly, acquired a proprietary sauce recipe from the Genovese family — a recipe that has never been changed.
He returned to Boulder with the sauce recipe, the method, and a plan. In 1977, the first Abo's Pizza opened on The Hill — the neighborhood adjacent to CU Boulder. A second location followed on Pearl Street Mall. Then North Boulder. Then the Front Range.
"The sauce is a proprietary blend fashioned after the legendary Rocky Graziano family recipe."
— Boulder County Gold
Today there are eight Abo's locations across the Colorado Front Range — all owner-operated under a license agreement, not a franchise. Each one makes the same pizza the same way: fresh dough daily, the same sauce, 100% skim mozzarella, Baker's Pride deck ovens. Nothing has changed because nothing needs to.
The original Abo's Pizza on The Hill, Boulder — 1977
Then & Now
The Early Days
How It Works
A License, Not a Franchise
Abo's Pizza operates on a license model — not a franchise. There are no ongoing royalties, no corporate bureaucracy, and no one telling each operator how to run their business beyond the pizza itself. The recipe, the method, and the quality standard are non-negotiable. Everything else is up to the owners.
The dough and sauce are made from scratch by Steve Abo and go to every location — so the pizza you get in Arvada is the same pizza you get in Erie. Eight locations. One standard. That's only possible when the person who cares most about the pizza is still the one making it.
Each location is genuinely owner-operated. That's the model that's kept Abo's consistent across the Front Range for nearly 50 years.
Learn About Opening an Abo's
Ready to Order?
Eight locations across the Front Range. Find yours and order online.