It’s been almost 35 years since a couple of college graduates from Illinois thought they could make a buck selling Chicago pan-style pizza in Wisconsin.
It turns out they were right. And today the Rocky Rococo name is one of the most recognizable restaurant brands in Wisconsin.
Since the first restaurant opened on Gilman Street just a few steps off State Street, the chain has grown to more than 40 locations in four states.
Founders Wayne Mosley and Roger Brown work out of offices at Mineral Point Road and Whitney Way, but in the 1980s they sold the company, which is now based in Oconomowoc. Mosley and Brown’s restaurants now are franchises of the company they founded.
But despite their success, 2008 may go down as the most challenging.
“I’ve never seen this,” Mosley said. “It was just an escalation of costs that tested every bit of your ability to manage your business.”
Record snows at the start and end of the year, a recession, high fuel prices and soaring costs for cooking oil, flour and cheese combined for an unprecedented business climate.
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