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Sotirios "Sam" Panopoulos (; 20 August 1934 8 June 2017) was a Greek-born Canadian cook and businessman, credited as the inventor of
Panopoulos settled in
Hawaiian pizza
Hawaiian pizza is a pizza invented in Canada, topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and either ham or bacon.
History
Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in ...
.
Early life
Sotirios Panopoulos was born inVourvoura
Vourvoura () is a village in the municipal unit of Skiritida, Tripoli, Greece, Tripoli, Arcadia (regional unit), Arcadia, Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Parnon mountains, at 1,000 m above sea level. It is 5 km west of A ...
, Greece, on 20 August 1934. He emigrated to Canada in 1954, aged 20, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
.
Career
Panopoulos settled in Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario
** Sudbury (federal electoral district)
** Sudbury (provincial electoral district)
** Sudbury Airport
** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...
, and then Elliot Lake
Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium ca ...
, Ontario, where he found work in the mines.
After sampling pizza in Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Panopoulos first tried pizza in North America when he visited Windsor, Ontario
Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...
.
With his brothers Elias and Nikitas, Panopoulos owned the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario. They offered typical American items such as burgers and fries and American Chinese dishes, some of which mix sweet and savoury flavours. In the early 1960s Panopoulos started offering pizzas, recently popular in the US. In 1962, he had the idea to add canned pineapple to pizza. This innovation (sometimes disputed) became popular with his customers, yet over time has also earned the disdain of pizza puritans.
In February 2017, when Iceland's President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson (;
born 26 June 1968) is an Icelandic historian and politician who served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024.
A historian, Guðni was a professor at the University of Iceland before running for pr ...
said that pineapple should be banned from pizza, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
tweeted: "I have a pineapple. I have a pizza. And I stand behind this delicious Southwestern Ontario creation."
Personal life
Panopoulos and his wife Christina were married for 50 years. They had a son, a daughter, and several grandchildren. Panopoulos sold the Satellite Restaurant in 1980, and lived inLondon, Ontario
London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
, for the rest of his life; he worked as a restaurateur there as well.
He died unexpectedly at University Hospital in London, Ontario, on 8 June 2017.
See also
*Greek Canadians
Greek Canadians () are Canadian citizens who have full or partial Greek heritage or people who emigrated from Greece and reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census, there were 262,140 Canadians who claimed Greek ancestry.
Demographics
Pro ...
* List of Canadian inventions and discoveries
Canadian inventions and discoveries are objects, processes, or techniques—invented, innovated, or discovered—that owe their existence either partially or entirely to a person born in Canada, a citizen of Canada, or a company or organization ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panopoulos, Sam 1934 births 2017 deaths People from Tripoli, Greece Greek emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian inventors 21st-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian restaurateurs Canadian male chefs