Minsky's Pizza

Kansas City’s longtime home of generously-topped, thin-and-crispy KC-style pizza with 100% Wisconsin mozzarella. Founded in 1976 by Gregg Johnson, it has grown to 17 locations (16 in the KC metro + Lawrence) and remains independent and founder-owned, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. Tier 1 (long-tenure, independent, founder-owned).

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Description

Minsky’s Pizza is a Kansas City pizza institution known for hand-rolled, generously-topped pies — its signature thin-and-crispy crust with 100% Wisconsin mozzarella — alongside Original and Deep-Dish Pan styles, plus gluten-free, cauliflower, and keto crust options.¹² Founded in 1976, it has grown to 17 locations while remaining independent and founder-owned, and is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026.²¹

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Locations

Multi-location operator pattern (per 2026-05-17_strategist-session-decisions-rounds-1-10 §D6.3): this is the operator-level parent page; it lists every location, and each location is its own Map pin linking back here. 16 of Minsky’s 17 locations are inside the KC metro (Lawrence, KS is outside scope per Geographic-Scope and is excluded from the Map dataset). Addresses verified 2026-06-02 against Minsky’s official per-location pages (linked from https://minskys.com/locations-menus/).[^loc]

KC metro (16)

#	Location	Address	Note
1	South Plaza	5105 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64112	Original 1976 (51st & Main); main dining room under construction 2026, open3
2	City Market	427 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64105	River Market
3	SW Blvd — Westside/Crossroads	3063 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
4	Barry Road East	221 NE Barry Rd, Kansas City, MO 64155	Northland
5	Barry Road West (Zona Rosa)	7007 NW Barry Rd, Kansas City, MO 64153	Northland
6	Liberty	205 N 291 Hwy, Liberty, MO 64068
7	Independence	2551 S State Route 291, Independence, MO 64057
8	Blue Springs	2201 NW State Route 7, Blue Springs, MO 64014
9	Lee’s Summit	1251 NE Rice Rd, Lee’s Summit, MO 64086
10	Leawood	12920 State Line Rd, Leawood, KS 66209
11	Prairie Village	6921 Tomahawk Rd, Prairie Village, KS 66208
12	Metcalf (Overland Park)	12627 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66213
13	Lenexa	13400 College Blvd, Lenexa, KS 66210
14	Shawnee	7198 Renner Rd, Shawnee, KS 66217
15	Olathe (159th & Mur-Len)	15983 S Bradley Dr, Olathe, KS 66062
16	Olathe — Ridgeview (K-10 & Ridgeview)	10540 S Ridgeview Rd, Olathe, KS 66061

Outside KC metro (1 — not in Map dataset)

Location	Address	Note
Lawrence	934 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044	Douglas County; outside KC-metro scope

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Ownership and history

Ownership

Period	Owner / Operator	Notes
1976 → present	Gregg Johnson (independent, founder-owned)	Founded Minsky’s 1976; still founder/owner; also founded sister concepts Osteria Il Centro (1995) + eggtc. (2006).14

Founder + the Godfather’s connection

Gregg Johnson opened the first Minsky’s at 5105 Main St (51st & Main, South Plaza) on March 6, 1976.²⁴ Before Minsky’s, Johnson owned the original Omaha takeout pizza parlor that Willy Theisen bought out in 1974 and rebranded into the Godfather’s Pizza chain — Theisen, not Johnson, built the Godfather’s brand and franchise.⁵⁶ (Minsky’s own materials describe Johnson as a “co-founder of Godfather’s,” which overstates the connection; the precise history is that he owned and sold the precursor parlor.) Johnson was later named the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association’s Restaurateur of the Year.⁴

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Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-02 · Source: official site (minskys.com, per-location menus + gluten-free) + delivery platforms · URL(s): https://minskys.com/locations-menus/, https://minskys.com/ · Confidence: High

KC-style thin-and-crispy pizza, generously topped, 100% Wisconsin mozzarella; Original + Deep-Dish Pan styles; gluten-free/cauliflower/keto crusts; build-your-own + gourmet pies; breakfast pizzas; appetizers; full bar at many locations; Take + Bake. Archive: 99_Archive/2026-06-02_minskys-pizza-menu/capture.md.

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Sources

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Disputes

(None active.)

Footnotes

1. Minsky’s Pizza — “About Us.” https://minskys.com/about-us/ — asserts: founded 1976; 17 area locations across Kansas + Missouri; thin-and-crispy + 100% Wisconsin mozzarella + heavy toppings; sister concepts Osteria Il Centro + eggtc. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Kansas City Magazine — “Still Slicing: Minsky’s Hits 50” (2026). https://kansascitymag.com/still-slicing-minskys-hits-50/ — asserts: founded 1976; first location 5105 Main; 100% Wisconsin mozzarella (Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy); 50th-anniversary Wagyu pizza promotion. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Minsky’s Pizza — official locations index, https://minskys.com/locations-menus/ (asserts 17 locations, 8 KS + 9 MO). Individual street addresses verified 2026-06-02 against each location’s own official page (e.g. https://minskys.com/south-plaza/, https://minskys.com/city-market/, https://minskys.com/leawood/). Cross-checked against Yelp for City Market, South Plaza, Barry Road West. ↩

4. Minsky’s — “Gregg Johnson Named KCRA Restaurateur of the Year.” https://minskys.com/gregg-johnson-named-kcra-restaurateur-of-the-year/ — asserts: founder & owner Gregg Johnson; opened first location 1976; sister concepts Osteria Il Centro (1995) + eggtc. (2006). ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Godfather’s Pizza — official history. https://godfathers.com/about/ — asserts: Willy Theisen “bought out the pizza parlor and the name in 1974” and built the Godfather’s brand/franchise. ↩

6. Wikipedia — “Godfather’s Pizza.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfather%27s_Pizza — asserts: “Willy Theisen bought out the pizza parlor and the name in 1974 from Gregg Johnson (who later started the Minsky’s Pizza restaurants).” ↩