03/31/2026
A heartfelt thank you to Paul Baio '97 for spending time with the Marist Business Club and sharing his story with our members.
Paul is a Marist High School Chicago alum, a current Marist father, and the family behind Palermo's Pizza, a South Side institution that has been feeding the community for 63 years.
He didn't set out to run a restaurant group. He was in Detroit studying automotive design when his uncle passed away suddenly and someone had to come home. Paul came home. No regrets.
What followed was 26 years of growing from one location to three, surviving COVID, getting Palermo's sauce onto the shelves at Jewel, and running the business from a hospital bed after a four-month recovery from a serious fall.
Through all of it, the through line was the same. Faith kept him grounded. Taking care of his people meant they showed up when it mattered most. Sacrifice, resilience, knowing when to pivot and when to trust your gut: these weren't abstract lessons. They were things Paul lived through, and our members heard the difference.
It's not every day students get to hear from someone who has built something with their hands, lost it almost completely more than once, and kept going anyway.
Paul, thank you for making the trip back home to Marist and for sharing great perspective and advice with our business club members.
