For 30 years, Valentino’s has been Husker fans’ ‘favorite slice’

The best slice of Valentino’s pizza may very well be served at Memorial Stadium. 

Perhaps it’s the fact that the hamburger and cheese pies are made fresh in one of Valentino’s three stadium kitchens on Husker football Saturdays and put into fans’ hands in less than half an hour. Maybe it’s those iconic triangle boxes the slices come in.

Or, it could simply be the experience of enjoying some pizza in the Sea of Red.

“I do think there is something magical about that pizza that comes out of that oven,” Anthony Messineo, vice president of operations, said. “People will tell us their favorite slice of Valentino’s is when they get it at Memorial Stadium.”

The 2024 Nebraska football season, which kicks of Saturday when the Huskers host UTEP, will mark 30 years of that Memorial Stadium pizza “magic.”

“I think it’s really cool because this is a tradition,” Messineo said. “It’s just been a fantastic partnership for us for 30 years.” 

Valentino’s first began dishing out slices to red-clad Husker fans in 1994, before even Runzas were sold there. Back then, there was just one production kitchen and pies had to be brought in from individual stores. Five years later, Val’s launched its own catering division to oversee the stadium operations.

Today, it’s a massive undertaking with nearly 100 workers from primarily Lincoln stores — many of whom have been there since the start — baking pizzas hot and fresh in three kitchens at the stadium.

That requires about 2,500 pounds of cheese and beef each, with product arriving earlier in the week before gameday. The kitchens get a deep clean and on Thursday and Friday the prep work begins. 

And then on Saturday, the magic begins, with pizzas put into ovens starting a couple of hours before the gates even open.

By the time all is said and done, Val’s will have sold about 21,000 slices, its average haul each Saturday.

“We’ve heard from different administrations over the years, when they get the numbers of how much pizza we sell, they kind of double take and say, ‘Wow, that’s quite a number. Of all of the places we’ve been, we’ve never heard of a branded pizza being the most popular item inside a football stadium,'” Messineo said.

Valentino’s ties to Nebraska go back even earlier. The restaurant’s original location was next to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus. From there, Val’s continued to grow after Messineo’s father, Tony, bought the business with his brother, Ron, in 1971.

Decades later, Val’s is now a tradition for thousands of Husker football fans.

“We want people to know how proud we are of this … and want to share our gratitude to the fans that have supported us over the years,” Messineo said.