Zio’s

Zio's is a popular Italian restaurant franchise with locations in Texas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and a cuisine that is both diverse and imaginative. Zio's serves traditional Italian fare as well as more inventive dishes such Italian nachos and pepperoni bread. The piazza-style setup makes this franchise family-friendly, but it's also nice enough for date night.

Zio's serves up great brick-oven pizzas with generous toppings. Cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives are all standard toppings, as well as Thai barbecued chicken. Each pizza is baked fresh to order and is the ideal sharing size. Zio's pasta is also known for its inventiveness. Standard fare such as linguine, cheese ravioli, and Alfredo pasta are available, as well as unique dishes such as Shrimp Limone, which combines shellfish with a zesty lemon sauce. Zio's is a cheap alternative for your Italian cuisine fix, with a $3.99 kid's menu.

Founded: 1994

Website: https://zios.com/