A few days ago Mahmoud Alghanim, a pioneer in the local restaurant industry sadly passed away. Mahmoud was the creator of the popular pizza concept “Pizza Italia” as well as the Italian concept “Prego”. Considering the popularity of the concepts, there is oddly very little information on the brands online which is why I was always hoping to meet him so I could document his story and make it available to everyone.
From what I gather, Pizza Italia opened sometime in the mid-80s (1984?) and had at least 16 locations. They were open at least till 2005 since that’s when I took the photo above.
Prego, on the other hand, I found the CV of their executive chef “Luca Umberto Voncini” online so I have a bit more information. Based on his CV they opened their first location in Dalal Complex in Salmiya in 1993 and then closed it in 1995. This was the same location where their Pizza Italia branch was previously located. They had two other Prego locations, one in Mangaf and one in Kuwait City. Those opened up in 1996 and closed in 1997.
Both concepts were under the mother company “Arab Food Service Co.”
An accident in front of Pizza Italia Riqqa Coop branch in 1987.
I’ve started scouring the internet to try and find as many photos, commercials, and information related to the brands so I can put them all under one post. If you have ANYTHING related to both brands, a menu, a business card, anything no matter how insignificant you think it is please let me know.
Tidbit: The popular Pizza Italia commercial above was filmed in Salmiya, in the old souk on Salem Al Mubarak Street. It was directed by Nick Cate on a hand-cranked 16mm Bolex camera. The music was composed by an Egyptian composer called Mohammed Al Banna. The actor running in the commercial is a Lebanese actor but I don’t have his name.
Update: Managed to get some dates!
Pizza Italia opened in 1983 with its first store in Daiya. They ended up closing the whole brand in 2005.
Prego opened in 1993 with its first store in Salmiya, Rabih Building (now demolished), followed by another store on the Gulf Road in Sharq. Prego also closed down in 2005.
46 replies on “Pizza Italia Creator Passed Away”
الله يرحمه
Prego was dads favorite restaurant after they closed, replacements were Lorenzo or Riccardo
Gone from our sight , but never from our hearts.
RIP uncle Mahmoud 💔
Underrated post!
May his soul rest in peace.
This brings back so many childhood memories! Our family loved their pizza. I’ve tried a lot of different pizza since but always craved it once again. Thank you for sharing this Mark!
I’m pretty sure I went to Prego Kuwait City opposite Souq Sharq on the Gulf road in 1999.
The building is still there btw, it’s the one that has Free Kuwait on the side of it. It used to be Pizza Italia and then changed to Prego.
Doesn’t he also own La Baguette?
Based on one of the photos of their old storefront the original owners were Saleh Al Roumi Co
https://www.paragonmc.com/la-baguette-page
But they sold the brand to another company.
No, it was called Boulangerie in Da3eyah…. LaBaguette was owned by a different Kuwaiti business family, AlRoumi and the prominent chef at their peak was Gilles, he passed away.
La Boulangerie
Boulangerie. Mr. M. M. A., introduced and distribuited in Kuwait real ITALIAN GELATI ” ICE CRAM. The best ice cream in Kuwait in those time, He has been consulted by an excellent consultant from Italy, (Andrea P.) Mr. M. M. A. directely imported all the tip top ingredients from Fabbri company.
May his soul rest in peace.
Maybe you could try to get in touch with his family – and they might give you some useful leads.
On another note, does anyone know the ad agency that worked on the advert? Perhaps they might have a copy in higher res.
I had already asked the director, this is what he responded:
“There was no agency involved in the commercial – I drew the storyboard with a friend, presented it to Mr Al Ghanim the owner of Pizza Italia, and shot it with an Indian assistant called Dan, who sadly has passed away since then. Behind the scenes? No nothing at all- not sure if I even have the original 16mm. Will look around and see if I have a better quality version – I may have a U-Matic tape version!”
Nick was also behind the classic NBK Zeina commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C15ICaYYcbI
Any chance that KTV has a copy?
I think Pizza Italia opened earlier than 1984, possibly 1980 or 1981.
Prego was ahead of its time (for Kuwait).. not enough people went out for casual dining back then to keep it running.
RIP
I asked an ex-employee and he said 1987-2005 but wasn’t very sure. I’ve reached out to two more ex-employees and waiting to hear back from them.
No, Prego came about 2 years after the liberation of Kuwait. Sometime in 1992 in AlRabi3 complex and replaced the second Pizza Italia ever opened. And yes, Ma7hmood AlGhanim was a visionary way ahead of his time for Kuwaiti market.
Also, supposedly they had an Indian restaurant in Kuwait Towers back then called Maharaja and another place in Layla Gallery called Oriental Palace. I don’t remember either of them.
BUT, this reminds me, there used to be a really popular Indian restaurant around the Massaleh, I think somewhere in the back? A proper Indian restaurant not a hole in the wall. Do you remember it?
YES! Another place ahead of the curve… I can’t remember its name even though the owner was a relative of mine who grew up in India. The food was very good and the vibe was really cool!
It was called Nawab Fort!
In those times… Tip top food quality ( all ingredients directely importedd from India, Japan, China, Italy., U. S. A. Excellent quality of service, better of any restaurant competitors and 5 * International Bra d Hotel.
I thought the car crash in front of the store was an advert. Like someone rushing to get his Pizza.
Long live the Godfather. The best pizza I ever ate. My Dad knew we loved it so much he used to stuff the fridge with it. It tasted incredible cold as well.
They had hotdogs as well. It had mustard, ketchup and actual relish. Like in the movies.
They had meatball pasta as well which was pretty good.
Going to have to cringe eating another bready commercial pizza or hipster overpriced fatayer.
I thought you were going to contact him and somehow revamp the franchise using your contacts and the “eff you” money from this blog.
R.I.P Mr.Mahmoud Alghanim
Best part was the price, a large godfather was for just 1.5KD and this is in the 2000’s!
Brings back so many memories. We used to get takeaway from the Fahaheel Co-op branch.
I even remember a Pizza Italia ad with skydivers on our old VHS movie tapes..
Rest In Peace.
Mark, do you remember a restuarant called (JUNGLE) that opened in the mall opposit of Al-Fanar .
it was ahead of its time in terms of theming (mostly forest and jungle) with various animal props and statues. I used to go a lot with my family between 2002-2005 i think it closed in 2007 although the food tasted good
i remember it but never went to it, was in my 20s then so I wasn’t the target
I remember that restaurant! I think it was opened on the second floor of Center Point the one infront Al-Fanar Complex, I recall they used to have some of love birds and other animals but the food was decent. Last time I visited I think there was some complaint of not taking care of the animals and actually the cages weren’t being properly cleaned and I remember seeing lots of dead birds instead :”(
I actually remember that place, it was called, The Jungle Food Court. Their food was pretty good, I remember going there for their Iftar Buffets, and on one such buffet they had this amazing chocolate pie, and I think the year before or after that they had a great cinnamon pie. In fact, I still remember going there as far back as 2007 when they had an offer where you can choose an appetizer, main and drink.
I need to know how, and why, such a successful franchise closed down?
The actor in the TV commercial is Mohammad Eid, and he used to work for Arab Food Services Company…
thanks!!
ALLAH yer7ham Mahmood AlGhanim
. One of four AMAZING mentors that crossed my life. I worked for him in Pizza Italian and Boulangerie in Da3eyah which along with Mahraja Palace was not mentioned in the post. Mahmood Alghanim, aka MMA, taught me how to implement theoretical scientic management learned in university to real life.
Ra7hmatu AALAH 3ala Ma7hmood AlGhanim
Hey Issam, I only found out about Maharaja Palace after the post. Do you know where I can get photos of the place? Supposedly it was located in Kuwait Towers?
This is the first Person who got hired for Maharaja Palace in India way back in 1988 and during the course of his 15 years with Arab Food Services Co. Managed Maharaja Palace, Prego & The Orient and was the last Manager to leave Arab Food Services Co. in 2003
When you create an Act…
You create a Habit…
When you create a Habit…
You create a Character…
When you create a Character…
You create Destiny.
This Saying is Most Apt for Mr. Mahmoud Alghanim or MMA as we used to fondly call him.
Undoubtedly the Biggest Mentor in my Life who shaped me the way I have become today.
The Many Memories of Him Remain Vivid on my Mind will ensure that his Legacy will Continue thru out my Life.
Rest In Peace MMA…
Our Heartfelt Condolences to the Entire Family.
Hey James! I found out about you and Maharaja from Hussain Jaajaa and tried finding you but couldn’t.
Do you have any info or photos you can share of Maharaja Palace or The Orient. Hussain told me The Orient was in Layla Gallery? Where exactly, ground floor?
Those were happy days for all of us James!
As you know I worked for MMA, my first job in Kuwait, back in 1993, at his travel agency next to Pizza Italia Sharq. Sanbouk Travels.
Had my staff lunch at Pizza Italia next to my office every day.
Do you remember when Chef Luca got locked in the fridge at Prego!
Mr. Alghanim was wonderful to me when I worked for him. I got to know him personally later on in life. He was a very generous person.
God rest his soul.
Guilty as charged….. Seems that no one wants to remember how foul mouthed Luca was. He was never hurt, just intimidated to lay off 😉
Floor 2 the Corner facing the Now Cube Mall. Started off as Mandarin Palace in 1994 serving excellent Chinese food with Teppanyaki counters whose food quality surpassed even the best at the SAS Hotel. Prego was another Ahead of Time Italian Restaurant & Trattoria whose food then surpassed the quality of any Italian restaurant of today. We had a Check Average of KD 10-12 in those days of 1994-95 at Prego something unheard of & we had Patrons coming in 2-3 times a week to dine there. All of MMA’s concepts were home grown concepts & he thrived long before the Franchises came in & changed the landscape of the Kuwait’s Culinary history. It is heartening to see that only after 30+ years we are seeing Young Dynamic Kuwaitis excelling in the Culinary Landscape that MMA laid the foundations as early as 1980s. “Truly A Man Much Ahead of His Times”. As a Pioneer of Kuwait’s Culinary Heritage his Name deserves to be Etched in History! Ameen
Do you have Any photos of both places? What about maharaja palace that was inside kuwait towers or near it?
Mark, How I wish Steve Jobs had given me my iPhone then, I would have transferred all the Pictures to you in a jiffy. Hold on, I may be able to upload some of it soon. Need to dig into the archives.
Peace be unto him.
I remember Prego and Mahraja !!
Lots of memories!!
We used to always visit these 2 places when we were young,
Two amazing places that I never knew come from the same owner, which shows how special is the person behind them.
RIP
Hi there . Pizza Italia opened in 1980 in Daiya. Alongside The Boulangerie Bakery which Mahmoud also owned. I worked in Kuwait at Arab Food Services and was involved in the opening. John Sullivan Dade, an American expat from Kentucky created the concept. Mahmoud introduced Haagen Dazs ice cream into Kuwait too. I still have a reference on Arab Food Services letterhead. Lovely times
May his soul rest in peace
Mr Mahmoud was a great leader, firm , down to earth and cared for his people . My first job after college was at his company and I would say that I owe him a lot from just watching and learning how he ran his business . Worked with him closely and still leveraging what I learned until today.professionally and personally.
الله يرحمه
Oscillations: Mahmoud M. Alghanim, Kuwait Visionary and Dissident–“A Few Moments of Remembrance”
https://oscillations.net/2023/09/01/mahmoud-m-alghanim-kuwait-visionary-and-dissident-a-few-moments-of-remembrance/