Bill Larson, 73; founder of Round Table chain of pizza parlors

Bill Larson, 73, the founder of Round Table Pizza, died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer in his hometown of Palo Alto, the company announced.

In 1958, Larson returned from a four-year stint in the Navy and went to work at a pizza parlor in San Mateo, Calif. A year later, he borrowed $1,800 and opened his first pizza parlor in Menlo Park, Calif.

He named the restaurant Round Table after the redwood tables he and his father built.

When Larson sold a portion of Round Table stock to a group of investors in 1979, the chain had 150 restaurants. The investors formed an employee stock ownership plan in 1985, and by 1992 Round Table was wholly owned by its employees. Today the chain has more than 500 restaurants, according to the company.

Larson’s son, Bob, still owns and operates the Menlo Park restaurant.