Restaurant news: My Pi closing last pizzeria in Bucktown after 54 years of deep dish

Chicago Tribune

27-05-2025

My Pi, the pizzeria founded on deep dish in Chicago, which once had 17 restaurants across the country, will close its last shop after 54 years next month.
'On June 29,' said Rich Aronson, owner of the last location in the Bucktown neighborhood, and son of 89-year-old founder Larry Aronson.
They will return, however, for one more day at Pizza City Fest this summer.
'We're going to be there Sunday, Aug. 24,' added Rich Aronson. 'Which will be the 54th anniversary of my dad opening the original restaurant on Aug. 24, 1971.'
They've always been famous for their deep dish pizza, but one became their signature.
'The My Pi Special,' Aronson said. 'Which is your classic Chicago sausage, mushroom, onion and green pepper pizza.'
So why are they closing?
The very short answer, he said, is because they've never really had a dining room, since they originally opened primarily for takeout and delivery, and that now hinders their business.
'How that came about is kind of twofold,' he added. 'One, early on, back in the '90s, people were not really going to dine out at pizzerias anymore, you could see that in how Pizza Hut got rid of a lot of their dine-in restaurants.'
Then things changed with a kind of rebirth of pizza in Chicago, said Aronson, from Spacca Napoli to so many different pizzerias opening, and people were willing to go out and try great pizza.
'But they want a dining room to really experience it,' he said. 'And then we get to COVID in 2020.'
Their shipping business went up 400%, he added, so they replaced their little indoor dining area with freezers and storage. But now that business 'has come down to a realistic level, or even less than that.'
'If I had a dining room, we would be fine,' Aronson said. 'But without the dining room, things haven't been going well enough.'
And then just the overall economy, he said, it's just not worth trying to get through that.
'And finally, the cherry on the top of all of it, is just that I've been working in restaurants for 44 years now,' he said. 'I've owned this restaurant for 25 years. And it's gotten to the point where I'm just a little tired.'
He's not going to retire, but would like to possibly teach or do something else in the food industry besides restaurants.
My Pi in Bucktown does still have limited seating in an enclosed and heated outdoor all-seasons room with four tables, which can be found in their free small parking lot.
Will they do anything special on their last day?
'No,' said Aronson. 'Especially since once we announced the closing, we've been busier than we've ever been.'
They're just trying to accommodate all their customers who are coming from all over the United States to have their last pizzas, plus locals ordering parbaked pies for their freezers, he said, with a smaller staff than they used to have.
What slice will they serve at Pizza City Fest?
'Our chicken pesto pizza,' he said. 'It's a deep dish pizza with chicken breast and spinach. It comes with our regular signature tomato sauce, but then our homemade pesto is drizzled on top.'
What's the last thing he's planning to have at his restaurant? The menu has expanded over the years to include several Chicago-style pizzas and more.
'It's probably going to be the deep dish pizza,' Aronson said.
Almost every Friday, he makes deep dish, thin crust and their stuffed spinach souffle pizza for his extended family.
'My parents come over, my brother's family, our family,' he said. 'We all meet at my brother's house, and we've been doing that for decades.'
His mom and dad still own the My Pi concept, he added, so it's their decision on what might happen next.
But he's sure that Friday, before the last Sunday in June when they close, they'll have their pizza night.
'And I'm probably going to make a few pizzas, parbake them, take them home and then we'll have pizza together the Friday after, the week after I close,' he said. 'With the whole family.'More pizza news, in alphabetical order:
Aurelio's Pizza of Homewood, founded in 1959, celebrated when Robert Prevost, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, began his papacy on May 8, especially since he had visited the flagship pizzeria with friends just last August, ordering their signature Chicago-style, thin crust, square cut tavern pie, but with pepperoni, which will be available soon as the Poperoni.George's Deep Dish Tavern, by pizzaiolo George Bumbaris, who makes pizzas named for famous Georges, including a spaghetti-and-meatballs-topped Michael S&M, an homage to the late singer-songwriter George Michael, just opened a second location in Harwood Heights on May 22.Milly's Pizza in the Pan, an ode to pizza master Robert Maleski's grandmother, and his spiritual pizza godfather, Burt Katz (Burt's Place, Pequod's), announced that Milly's will be moving their Uptown location to the Noble Square neighborhood, home to an existing rare and bigger Middleby Marshall oven, sometime in late July.Beer Garden at Independence Grove, a seasonal cafe on a lake in the forest preserve, offering Lake County-brewed beers plus nonalcoholic drinks, snacks and light meals, began pouring in Libertyville on May 2. (Do note they're not pet friendly.)Norman's Bistro on the Lake, a new South Side lakefront outpost on Rainbow Beach of Norman's Bistro, the namesake restaurant of owner Norman Bolden in Kenwood, is expected to sail with their Creole, American Southern and South American menu in South Shore, postponed their Memorial Day weekend opening due to weather, but plans to kick off a summer series with live DJs on June 2.Taqueria Chingón, the creative taco restaurant by chefs and owners Marcos Ascencio and Oliver Poilevey, who closed their popular, but small and weather-dependent original location in the Bucktown neighborhood last November, relocated to the West Loop on May 17 and launched their expansive dog-friendly sidewalk patio on May 23.Ari Bendersky, veteran journalist and founding editor of Eater Chicago, premiered a documentary-style series on behind-the-scenes looks at restaurants called 'Family Meal,' the first episode featuring chef John Manion at the South American-inspired Brasero in West Town, now streaming on YouTube.Steve Dolinsky, the 13-time James Beard award-winning journalist, best known as the Hungry Hound, and founder of Pizza City Fest, has joined the Levy restaurant group as The Food Guy, a new role focused on culinary innovation and hospitality creativity.Maggie Hennessy, recently restaurant critic at Time Out Chicago, has joined The Party Cut, a Substack by irreverent food writer Dennis Lee, and her debut review covers Mister Tiger, a new family-owned homestyle Korean restaurant in the Noble Square neighborhood.CosMc's, the futuristic beverage-focused concept by McDonald's, which opened in 2023 with hourslong waits and news helicopters hovering overhead, will close the original location in Bolingbrook along with all stand-alone stores starting in late June.