The Iowa Town That Gave the World Taco Pizza: A Tasty History

Putting tacos and pizza together was ingenious! But I had no idea that this tasty food combo sent from heaven was invented in Iowa!?

What happens when you take two of the best foods on planet Earth and put them together in one great meal?

You get the delicious Taco Pizza! It's hard to believe that Taco Pizza was not invented until 1972.

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Taco Pizza’s Iowa Roots: Discover the Town Where It All Began

Did you know the Taco Pizza was invented by “Happy Joe” Witty at Happy Joe's Pizza in Davenport, Iowa?

As the story goes...After refusing to allow a franchisee to add tacos to their menu, Happy Joe's owner Joe Whitty decided to make something better than tacos.

Whitty claimed that the taco pizza was created in the early 70s when he topped his pizza with taco chips, lettuce, and tomatoes. Brilliant!

Sadly the world lost Happy Joe Whitty in 2019 at the age of 82.

Where to Get the Orginal Taco Pizza

But thankfully we can enjoy his inspirational invention at any of the 41 Happy Joe's locations not only in its home state of Iowa, but also in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri, and Illinois.

You can have a delicious Happy Joe's shipped about anywhere in the United States.

Man, am I hungry now!

Happy Joe's Pizza locations:

Happy Joe's Pizza Iowa

• Bettendorf
  2430 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf, IA 52722
  (563) 359-5457
• Burlington
  1011 Lawrence Drive, Burlington, IA 52601
  (319) 753-1665
• Cascade
  207 1st Avenue West, Cascade, IA 52033
• Cedar Rapids West
  3315 Williams Blvd SW Suite #6, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
  (319) 396-0626
• Clinton
  408 South 1st St, Clinton, IA 52732
  (563) 242-3121
• Davenport (Happy Joe’s PIZZAGRILLE)
  1616 West Locust St., Davenport, IA 52804
  (563) 324-5656
• Davenport West 50th
  201 W 50th St., Davenport, IA 52806
  (563) 386-1766
• Dewitt
  1407 11th St., PO BOX 78, DeWitt, IA 52742
  (563) 659-9173
• Dubuque Century Dr
  855 Century Dr, Dubuque, IA 52001
  (563) 556-0820
• Dubuque University Ave
  1094 University Ave, Dubuque, IA 52001
  (563) 556-0823
• Dyersville
  Southridge Plaza, 1213 12th Ave., Dyersville, IA 52040
  (563) 875-7263
• Le Claire
  119 N. Cody Rd, Le Claire, IA 52753
  (563) 289-3305
• Muscatine Grandview
  927 Grandview Ave, Muscatine, IA 52761
  (563) 263-1320
• Muscatine Lake Park
  203 Lake Park Blvd, Muscatine, IA 52761
  (563) 263-5233
• Ottumwa
  315 Church Street, Ottumwa, IA 52501
  (641) 682-4565
• Urbandale
  8056 Douglas Ave, Urbandale, IA 50322
  (515) 270-0695

Happy Joe's Pizza Illinois

• Aledo
  SE 314 3rd Street, Aledo, IL 61231
  (309) 582-5636
• Coal Valley
  320 West 1st Ave., Coal Valley, IL 61240
  (309) 799-3171
• East Moline
  4020 Kennedy Dr., East Moline, IL 61244
  (309) 755-4576
• Galena
  9919 US-20, Galena, IL 61036
  (815) 777-6168
• Kewanee
  515 Tenney Street, Kewanee, IL 61442
  (309) 853-8226
• Milan
  909 4th St W, Milan, IL 61264
  (309) 787-6126
• Moline
  2041 16th St., Moline, IL 61265
  (309) 764-3388
• Morrison
  109 West Main Street, Morrison, IL 61270
  (815) 772-7840
• Rock Island
  1412 30th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201
  (309) 788-8777

Minnesota

• Crookston
  705 East Robert St., Crookston, MN 56716
  (218) 281-5141
• New Ulm
  1700 North Broadway, New Ulm, MN 56073
  (507) 359-9811

Happy Joe's Pizza Missouri

• St. Peters
  905 Jungermann Rd., St. Peters, MO 63376
  (636) 317-1134

Happy Joe's Pizza North Dakota

• Bismarck
  2921 N 11th St, Bismarck, ND 58503
  (701) 355-1146
• Fargo
  2911 45th St S, Fargo, ND 58104
  (701) 293-5252
• Grand Forks
  2909 S Washington, Grand Forks, ND 58201
  (701) 772-6655
• Minot
  420 20th Ave SE, Minot, ND 58701
  (701) 839-5637

Happy Joe's Pizza Wisconsin

• Green Bay
  1675 East Mason St., Green Bay, WI 54302
  (920) 465-0690
• Lancaster
  Hwy. 61 - 105 Alona Lane, Lancaster, WI 53813
  (608) 723-4101