Steve Salis

Steve Salis is an American entrepreneur, co-founder of &pizza, and the founder of Sizzle Acquisition and Salis Holdings.

Early life
Steve Salis was born in 1983 to a working-class family in New Hampshire. His father ran a gas station and his mother did different small jobs. As a child, he was good at basketball and got a scholarship to the University of New Hampshire. Salis studied economics and business administration in college but dropped out and moved to New York City upon receiving modeling opportunities there.

Career
Salis began his career as a fashion model in New York City but soon started working at nightclubs. Later, he started giving advice to restaurants and bars on how to run their business better.

In 2012, Steve Salis co-founded &pizza with Michael Lastoria while in his mid-20s. To select the location for their inaugural &pizza outlet, they explored numerous places over three weeks, eventually choosing Washington, D.C. Salis was the CEO from its inception until 2015. In 2017, &pizza advocated a cause in Congress, a $15 minimum wage by 2023. Salis remained the major shareholder in the company until 2019, when he divested his holdings for an undisclosed sum.

Steve Salis founded Salis Holdings in 2015. Under Salis Holdings, Steve Salis has acquired and currently owns several notable brands including Ted's Bulletin, Kramers Bookstore, Federalist Pig, and Honeymoon Chicken, expanding his business in the hospitality and food industry.

Steve Salis is also the CEO of Sizzle Acquisition Corp, a NASDAQ listed blank-check company with a focus on acquiring businesses in the retail and consumer sectors. In 2021 it has raised $155 million with an initial public offering. He has a growing real estate holdings portfolio and in 2022 announced a nearly billion-dollar lithium battery merger in the public market space through Sizzle Acquisition Corp.