Pizza, a staple of college students everywhere, was born in ancient Greece.

But the pizza people know and love today was not introduced until 1889 in Italy when cheese was added to the flattened bread, according to recipepizza.com.

For the longest time pizza was known as the dish of poor people, according to greatpizzarecipes.com. The first pizza restaurant called Port’ Abla was founded in Naples, Italy. It was built into the side of Mount Vesuvius so the volcanic rock could help cook the pizza, stated recipepizza.com.

It wasn’t until 1800 when pizza was introduced to the United States that it truly began to grow in popularity.

According to whatscookingamerica.net, Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizzeria in the United States in 1905. Lombardi’s Pizzeria, 32 Spring St. in New York City, is still around today.

“We use the same recipe and ingredients that Gennaro Lombardi used in 1905,” said Yanni Provias, manager of Lombardi’s Pizzeria. “We use the same type of coal-fired brick ovens that are hotter than normal ovens. This cooks the pizza faster, and I personally think it makes the pizza taste better.”

The New York-style pizza was first developed by immigrants from Naples in New York City. They were sold from carts and made right on the street, according to ehow.com.

The Chicago-style pizza was invented by Ike Sewell and was first served in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno, 29 E. Ohio St. in Chicago, which is still in business.

“We haven’t really changed anything since Ike was involved,” said April McRaven, general manager at Pizzeria Uno. “We still order the same products from the same vendors. In fact, a lot of our staff actually worked with Ike.”

According to enotes.com, the Detroit-style pizza was originally the brainchild of Gus Guerra, the founder of Cloverleaf Pizza, 28630 Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores, Mich.

“We make our pizza exactly the same way that Gus did,” said Ryan Patrona, shift leader at Cloverleaf Pizza. “Jack Guerra, Gus’ son, makes all the dough for us. It is still run by the family, and we haven’t done anything different to the pizza since Cloverleaf opened in 1946.”