The Cataldo Crew
“We are immigrants. I was born in Italy. I came over when I was five. My dad and brothers worked in the RV/recreation vehicle industry. [One brother] said he was tired of the ups and downs [in the RV industry]. ‘I want to start something on my own.’ My brother Bruno was also working at a local pizzeria. And, we said, ‘Let’s go on this adventure. Let’s take a leap of faith and start our own business.’ So, we chose pizza because we were familiar with it. It was Italian. We were Italian. We started with pizza because it is such a universal food. Thin crust, thick crust. If you’re young or old or anything in between. You can feed the masses. You can personalize it. If you're a meat lover or a vegetarian, you can still eat pizza. For us, it was a natural thing to roll into.”
Family has always come first for Paul— even before Antonio’s. Raised in a large Italian family, he learned early that love is expressed around the table, and that great food is meant to be shared with the people who matter most. Since the late 1990s, his six children have carried that tradition forward, growing up inside the restaurant, cooking alongside him, and even competing together on the culinary stage in Las Vegas,NV and Italy— boasting an achievement of two world champion titles for pizza.
Through every chapter, two values have remained at the heart of the Cataldo legacy: food and family. Visit Antonio’s on any evening, and you’ll likely find a member of the Cataldo family welcoming guests or working in the kitchen. In 2025, Paul proudly welcomed his daughter Carmela as co-owner, honoring their heritage while ensuring that the next generation leads with the same warmth, pride, and passion. Both Paul and Carmela are members of the World Pizza Champions Team— a worldwide team of elite pizza professionals dedicated to promoting the craft of pizza making and using it to serve the community.
Since 1979, Antonio’s has been honored to serve the Greater Elkhart community. For decades, we’ve fed families, celebrated milestones, and created memories around our tables— and we look forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come.
Benvenuti a casa. Welcome home.
