Entry No. 49 — the Memphis file — filed under: barbecue-pizza
Coletta's Italian Restaurant
Coletta's opened in 1923 and is now run by the fifth generation of the same family, which is roughly four generations longer than most restaurants get. The claim it rests on is barbecue pizza — mounds of pork BBQ, mozzarella and sauce, listed on the menu as "The Original Barbeque Pizza" and sold in 8, 12 and 15 inch — a Memphis genre this kitchen is generally credited with inventing. The South Parkway room is the original address and its menu is the older, cheaper one: pizzas from $9.00, meatball and Italian beef sandwiches in the $6.50-$9.50 range, pasta running up to about $17.25, cannoli at the end. The Elvis-ordered-it-by-the-boxful story is house lore that South Memphis has never had reason to correct. There's a second, newer Coletta's on Appling Road out east, but it's the newer, tidier one.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Memphis — never the same twice
The story
Emil Coletta opened at 1063 South Parkway East in 1923, though not as an Italian restaurant — the sign said Suburban Ice Cream Company, and he sold homemade ice cream, sandwiches and pasta. The pasta won. Sailors from the local navy base began asking for pizza, a dish then known mainly in New York and Chicago, so Emil sent his son Horest to Chicago in the early 1950s to learn to make it. Horest came back and the kitchen hedged: it topped the pie with barbecue, the one thing Memphis already trusted, to talk wary customers into trying the strange flat bread. It became the best seller, and the family's own history calls it one of Elvis Presley's favorite foods.
The other claim is the family tree. Horest handed South Parkway to his son Jerry, who runs it with his wife Diane; it is the oldest restaurant in Memphis and turned 100 in 2023. Horest had opened a second Coletta's on Summer Avenue in 1956 that ran forty years until it burned down in 1996; rather than rebuild, the family opened a new room on Appling Road in 1998, now owned and operated by Jerry's three children, Lisa, Stephen and Kristina. A fifth generation works alongside them.
South Parkway keeps the older, cheaper menu. The Original Barbeque Pizza runs $12.50, $19.50 and $26.75 for 8, 12 and 15 inches; plain cheese starts at $9.00; a meatball sandwich is $6.50, ravioli $12.50, lasagna $14.25, cannoli $5.00. Barbecue is a standing ingredient here rather than a stunt topping — it also turns up on a salad and over spaghetti. There is a full bar, a children's menu, and a Goldbelly account that ships the pizza nationwide for people who never make the trip.
What it's like
Arrival is a free lot in South Memphis and a full-service dining room rather than a counter: you are seated, you order, and the pizza is baked to order, so put it in early if the table is hungry. The lunch special runs daily 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $10.25 — a 6-inch two-topping pizza, spaghetti or lasagna, plus salad and a drink — and is dine-in only, which is the cheapest way to test whether the barbecue-pizza argument holds. Evenings are unhurried and family-heavy, and the kitchen runs to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, so it works as a genuine late dinner. Saturday does not open until noon and Sunday not until 1 p.m., which is where people get caught out.
The move: Go to the South Parkway location, not Appling — order one 12-inch Original Barbeque Pizza and one plate of ravioli so the table has both halves of the argument, and finish with cannoli. It runs to 10pm Mon-Thu and 11pm Fri-Sat, so it works as an actual late dinner rather than a rush.
📍 Before you go South Parkway phone 901-948-7652. Hours Mon-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri 11am-11pm, Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 1pm-9pm — note the late Saturday open and the late Sunday open. Lunch specials run daily 11am-4pm at $10.25, dine-in only. Don't mix up the two locations: Appling Road (2850 Appling Rd, 901-383-1122) is a separate room with different hours and noticeably higher prices, and it closes at 8:30pm Sun-Thu. Private dining seats up to 100 and they ship the barbecue pizza nationwide via Goldbelly if the trip doesn't happen.
- 📍 Memphis
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1063 S Parkway E, Memphis, TN 38106
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Elmwood Cemetery — A mile north up Dudley, and it closes in the afternoon while Coletta's runs to 10 — yellow fever mass graves and Shelby Foote's headstone, then barbecue pizza, is a defensible Sunday.
- National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum) — Same 38106 zip, about three miles west on the bluff: watch the smiths pour molten metal in the open-air forge, walk the free sculpture garden, then drive back inland for dinner.
- Hernando's Hide-A-Way — Three and a half miles south in Whitehaven, and it keeps the Elvis thread going into the night — check the show calendar first, because it is not open every evening.
More weird in Memphis
Good to know
There are two Coletta's — which one am I supposed to go to?
South Parkway, 1063 S Parkway E, (901) 948-7652. That is Emil Coletta's original 1923 address and it carries the older, cheaper menu. Appling Road (2850 Appling Rd, (901) 383-1122) opened in 1998, is run by the next generation, prices higher, and closes at 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Online ordering exists only at Appling.
What does dinner actually cost?
The Original Barbeque Pizza is $12.50 for an 8-inch, $19.50 for a 12-inch and $26.75 for a 15-inch. Plain cheese starts at $9.00. Pastas run about $9.50 to $17.25, sandwiches $6.50 to $9.50, cannoli $5.00. Two people can share a 12-inch and a pasta and stay under $40 before drinks.
Do I need a reservation, and can I book it for a group?
Walk in for a normal meal. The banquet facility is at the Appling location, not South Parkway: one room seats up to 50, both together up to 100, booked on (901) 383-1122 with entree minimums and a refundable deposit ($150 for one room, $200 for both). No confetti and nothing hung on the walls.
What are the exact hours?
Monday to Thursday 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Saturday noon–11 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m.–9 p.m. Note the late weekend openings — Saturday lunch and Sunday brunch do not exist here. Confirm by phone before driving out.
I can't get to Memphis. Can I still eat the pizza?
Yes. Coletta's ships the barbecue pizza nationwide through Goldbelly, linked from their own site. It is not the same as eating it in the 1923 room, but it is the same pie.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
last checked: 2026-08-26