The first restaurant was located in the eastern Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, on Kennedy Road near Lawrence Avenue, which currently operates under the name Nova Ristorante.

[3] The chain was founded by a young family of Italian immigrants — consisting of Sam Primucci, and his brothers Mike, Vince, and Joe — originating from Palazzo San Gervasio Basilicata, Italy.

[2] Following many years of success in both their delivery and walk-in services, the restaurant opened their first franchised store in 1969.

"[6] In October 1987, jingle writer Syd Kessler, advertising agency Montana Steele, and Pizza Nova President Sam Primucci produced an advertisement featuring the singing of the phone number and vocalising the quadruple zero as "4-3-9, Oh-Oh Oh-Oh Pizza Nova!

Pizza Nova has also started to cater to vegans as it offers dairy-free cheese, and as of 2021, plant based pepperoni.