William R. Larson

William Ray Larson (January 30th, 1933 - November 15, 2006) was an American restaurant founder, known for starting the West Coast American pizza company Round Table Pizza.
Early life
Larson was born in San Jose, California on January 30, 1933 to Doris Loveall, an American cannery worker. He had one older brother, Robert Larson. They were later adopted early during their childhood by Swedish immigrant and machinist Henry Larson, Doris' new husband. William was raised in Palo Alto, California.
Career
In 1958, William was working for a pizza parlor in San Mateo, California. He enjoyed the work so much he began planning to construct a pizza restaurant of his own. and used these earnings to open his first pizza parlor in Menlo Park, California on December 21, 1959 located at 1235 El Camino Real. He called his restaurant Round Table Pizza. This location eventually moved to 1225 El Camino Real a few years later where it still stands today.
According to PizzaMarketPlace.com, "William's developed recipe & crust soon brought Round Table Pizza a strong following from customers and entrepreneurs." Larson penned the slogan for Round Table "share a little pizza with someone you love." This was later changed to "The Last Honest Pizza." Currently Round Table Pizza has over 400 restaurants open. He had nine children.<ref name"latimes"/> As of 2020 William's son, Bob Larson, still owns and operates the original Menlo Park California restaurant.<ref name"latimes"/><ref name="pizzamarket"/>

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