Co-Owner of longtime Columbus pizza brand passes away

A light in the Columbus pizza scene has gone out. Longtime co-owner of Massey’s Pizza James “Jed” Pallone Died on April 1. He was 77.

“Jed was an incredibly generous soul who loved life and his family above all,” his obituary reads. “He was a self-made and successful entertainment entrepreneur in the Columbus area for almost 60 years.”

According to Massey’s CMO Rich Folk, before buying Massey’s, Jed Pallone and his brother Dave Pallone owned and operated a variety of popular bars and clubs in Columbus, starting in the 1960s.

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The pair was behind concepts like Screamin Willies on the east side and King Tut’s on Morse Road, which became Rosie O’Grady’s before closing for good last fall.

“They kept transitioning to different bars as the times changed. In the 90s, Dave and Jed were looking to do a pizza concept, and Massey’s sort of fell to them out of thin air,” Folk said.

According to a Columbus pizza documentary created by Massey’s in 2021, after the eatery had grown throughout the 90s, it closed all locations in 1999. The Pallones then purchased the pizzeria from from their cousin, Phil Casa, before reopening Massey’s locations in 2000.

“They were well-respected in Columbus, and had funding to get things up and running. There were seven stores at the time, and they slowly started reopening them after taking over,” Folk said,

The Pallones were also behind moving Massey’s to a franchise model. Today, the brand operates more than 16 locations, including one in South Carolina. Dave Pallone continues to operate the brand.

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