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 An undercooked sausage and pepperoni Tombstone pizza | |
| Product type | Pizza |
|---|---|
| Owner | Nestlé |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 1962 |
| Markets | United States |
| Website | goodnes.com/tombstone |
Tombstone is a brand of frozen pizza. It is available with a variety of toppings, including pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, onions, bell peppers, and sausage. The package design typically includes images of a cactus and the pizza.
Tombstone was founded in Medford, Wisconsin, U.S., by Pep Simek, his brother, Ron Simek, and two other individuals in 1962. [1] [2] The name came from The Tombstone Tavern, a tavern owned by the Simeks which was located across from a cemetery, hence its name. [1]
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In 1988, the Tombstone Pizza Company became a wholly owned but "freestanding" division of Kraft Foods. The employees who worked for Tombstone at the time were allowed to keep their jobs, although Pep and Ron Simek stepped aside from their roles in the business. [3]
On January 5, 2010, Kraft Foods announced it was selling its frozen pizza division to Swiss-based Nestlé Foods as part of a plan to use the proceeds to purchase Cadbury, a maker of dairy milk chocolate. In addition to Tombstone, this included other pizza brands including DiGiorno, Jacks and California Pizza Kitchen's frozen pizza line. The Kraft frozen pizza division is now part of Nestlé D.S.D. (direct store delivery). [ citation needed ]
"What do you want on your Tombstone?" was created by the Chicago office of advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding, now part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. [4] The slogan was typically used in Western advertising campaigns: a typical television commercial would ostensibly appear to be a public execution, but when the supposed executioner would ask "what do you want on your tombstone?" (i.e. an epitaph), the accused would reply along the lines of "Pepperoni and cheese." A Tombstone pizza would then be summoned.
Another slogan used in 1999 and the early 2000s was "Shoulda had that Tombstone." In one of the television commercials, the growling of a boy's stomach caused him to be caught by his girlfriend's father while hiding in her room. [5]
Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney.
Pepperoni is a variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika and chili peppers.
Nabisco is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International.
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas more popular with locals. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.
Häagen-Dazs is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York, in 1960. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee, the company opened its first retail store in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1976. The Pillsbury food conglomerate bought Häagen-Dazs in 1983, and now the brand is sold worldwide, as cartons, ice cream bars, ice cream cakes, sorbet, frozen yogurt, and gelato.
Lunchables is a brand of food and snacks manufactured by Kraft Heinz in Chicago, Illinois and marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand. They were initially introduced in Seattle in 1988 before being released nationally in 1989. Many Lunchables products are produced in a Garland, Texas facility, and are then distributed across the United States.
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California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza. The restaurant was started in 1985 by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax in Beverly Hills, California, United States. California Pizza Kitchen introduced and popularized BBQ Chicken Pizza.
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Birds Eye is an international brand of frozen foods founded in the USA and now owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia.
Hot Pockets is an American brand of microwaveable turnovers generally containing one or more types of cheese, meat, or vegetables. Hot Pockets was founded by Chef America Inc. Since April 20, 2002, they have been produced by Nestlé.
Bagel Bites are a brand of frozen pizza bagel snacks produced by Kraft Heinz.
Kraft Foods Inc. was a multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It marketed many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earned more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, and Tang. Forty of its brands were at least a century old.
Pizza Pops are a Canadian calzone-type snack produced by Pillsbury. Pizza Pops are sold both pre-cooked and frozen. Typically, they can be reheated in a microwave oven. However, they may also be cooked in a conventional oven.
Lean Cuisine is a brand of frozen entrées and dinners sold in the United States by Nestlé, and in Australia by Vesco. The brand began as low-fat, low-calorie versions of Stouffer's products. Today, Lean Cuisine includes traditional dinners, ethnic dishes, pizzas, whole-grain Spa Cuisine entreés, and panini. The headquarters of Lean Cuisine in the United States is located in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
Pizza snack rolls are a frozen food product consisting of bite-sized breaded pizza pockets with an interior of tomato sauce, imitation cheese and various pizza toppings. They are sold in a variety of flavors including cheese, pepperoni, sausage, supreme, multiple imitation cheeses, and mixed meats. Other flavors included hamburger, cheeseburger, ham and cheese, and combination. Pizza snack rolls are designed to be quickly cooked in the oven or microwave. The name "pizza rolls" is a trademark of General Mills, current owner of the original product.
DiGiorno is a brand of frozen pizzas sold in the United States, and is a subsidiary of Nestlé. In 2023, Nestle discontinued sales of Delissio pizzas in Canada.
Dairylea is a popular brand of processed cheese products produced by Mondelēz International and available in Ireland and the United Kingdom. As of 2017, it is also available in Australia.
Looney Tunes Meals were a line of frozen dinners released by Tyson Foods in 1990. They were based on the characters from the eponymous Warner Bros. cartoons and targeted primarily at children. The meals were discontinued in late 1993 because of declining sales.
Joseph "Pep" Simek Sr. was an American businessman who co-founded, along with his brother Tombstone pizza, a widely available American brand of frozen pizza.
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