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Miami Herald
04-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Iconic pizza chain closes after 50 years, no bankruptcy filing
Pizza lovers debate their favorite people insist on a New York-style pizza or the even thinner New Haven, Connecticut-style. It's fair to say that people in the Northeast have an absolute beef with people in the Midwest who love Chicago-style pizza. Related: Another popular brewery files Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate New Yorkers, and people from New England, generally dismiss Chicago style pizza has not being pizza at all. They might like it in the way that you can like chicken Parmesan and chicken soup and know that those two things are not the same. But, whether you love Chicago style pizza, or dismiss it as a variation on lasagna, it's sad to see an iconic pizza chain close it doors. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter At a time when pizza restaurants are not immune from the general problems facing the industry, it's difficult to lose a brand that has been in business for over 50 years. It's one thing to see Pizza Hut shutter locations and even to watch Bertucci's teeter on the edge of going out of business after it's chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. But it's another entirely to watch a local tradition that once had a large presence close its doors for good. My Pi has a deep history in greater-Chicago area. The family-owned chain shares its history on its website. "My father's hobby is cooking and he studied cooking his whole life. In the early 1950s, he started developing his recipe for deep dish pizza. He continued to work on this recipe while at Northwestern's Business School. To pay his way through school, he opened a hot dog stand on the Northside. He also worked as a steward at his fraternity," it posted. That eventually led to what would become his true passion, although it was not a very direct route. "No fraternity has ever eaten so well because he had carte blanche to work on all of his recipes, from pizza to filet mignon. My dad based his pizza recipe on improving his favorite pizza. He studied and experimented with tomatoes that were not as acidic and he developed a "spice pack" that would enhance the flavor of the tomatoes on his pizza," the company shared. Restaurant bankruptcies: Popular restaurant and bar chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular athletic shoe chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcyAward-winning cosmetics brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Ultimately, that became a recipe he shared with the world. "After college, he worked his way up the corporate ladder until he became a partner in a large financial brokerage company, all the while entertaining his family and friends and repeatedly hearing, 'You should open your own pizzeria.' So, on August 24, 1971, my father opened the first My Pi on Sheridan Road across from Loyola University in Rogers Park," it continued. The chain started with Larry Aronson's deep dish pizza recipe that he had been working on since the 1950s. It eventually grew into more than 20 My Pi restaurants in 9 states. Love it or hate it, you can credit My Pi with spreading the gospel of deep dish Chicago-style pizza. "My Pi was the first Chicago deep dish pizza restaurant opened outside of Illinois and has been saluted as the best pizza in the towns where it was located. When I was fourteen, my father opened a small carryout version of his restaurant in our hometown. I started cooking there and continued to work at his restaurants for eight years. Then I moved onto restaurant management school and the Culinary Institute of America," Rich Aronson, the son of the Larry Aronson shared. Now, Rich has made the difficult decision to close. "After more than five decades of serving its beloved deep-dish pizzas, My Pi, one of Chicago's original deep-dish pizzerias, will close its door at the end June. Thank You, Chicago -and beyond- for 54 wonderful years," it posted on its webite. An Instagram post shared more information on the decision to close down. "With heavy hearts, we announce that My Pi Pizza will be closing at the end of June," the company posted. "...We've been honored to be part of your celebrations, your cravings, your late nights, and your family dinners. Your support means the world to us." Related: Fast-food chicken chain faces Chapter 11 bankruptcy, liquidation Rich Aronson blamed the uncertainty of the economy on his decision to close the chain's final location. Fans of My Pi were upset over the decision,. Many responses to the Instagram post lamented the loss of the company's vegan pizza. Matthew_Jon22 summed up what most of the posts shared. "This is a tragedy. This was easily the best deep dish in Chicago," he wrote. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Time Out
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
This iconic Chicago deep-dish pizzeria is closing this summer after 50 years in business
After over half a century of cheesy, saucy, deep-dish glory, one of Chicago's most iconic pizza institutions is calling it quits. My Pi (yes, that one with the Greek symbol and the buttery crust) has announced it will permanently close its Bucktown location on June 29, marking the end of a pie-slinging era. Founded in 1971 by Larry Aronson across from Loyola University in Rogers Park, My Pi helped put deep dish on the national map, opening 25 restaurants across nine states at its peak. Its distinctive recipe, which Aronson began perfecting in the '50s, used lower-acid tomatoes, a top-secret 'spice pack' and dough built on generations of baking knowledge (his family arrived from Bialystock, Belarus, in 1905). Forget the gut-bomb stuffed pies of rivals: My Pi's crust is lighter, airier and baked with balance in mind. The current Bucktown location, tucked inside a low-key strip mall since 2000, is the last of its kind. It has weathered decades of shifting pizza trends and even a pandemic-era resurgence through takeout and nationwide frozen pie shipping options. But with rising costs, delivery app pressures and limited dine-in space, owner Rich Aronson (Larry's son, who's been working in the kitchen for 44 years) says the time has come to shutter. View this post on Instagram A post shared by MyPiPizzaChicago (@mypipizzachicago) 'I just feel bad that the more balanced kind of tuxedo version of the deep dish... is kind of going away,' the owner said to Eater. For fans who know the difference between stuffed and true deep dish, this one hits hard. The restaurant will continue to ship nationwide through June 22, and it will make one last public appearance at Steve Dolinsky's Pizza City Fest this fall. But, after that, it's oven off. So if you've got memories of those vertical signs in Lincoln Park, Pac-Man in the waiting area, spinach soufflé pies or made-to-order salads that somehow made you feel less guilty, this is your last chance to experience it all. Bucktown's
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Chicago's My Pi pizzeria to close for good after 54 years
My Pi, a classic Chicago deep-dish pizzeria, announced Thursday that it will soon close its doors for good. My Pi, stylized as My Π, has been in business since 1971. Its last remaining outpost, in a strip mall at 2010 N. Damen Ave. in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, has been open since 2000. But its reach has stretched well beyond Chicago over the years. "We introduced deep-dish beyond Illinois, opened 25 locations across nine states, and shared our family recipe with generations of pizza lovers," Richard Aronson and the My Pi family said in an Instagram post announcing the closure. "We've been honored to be part of your celebrations, your cravings, your late nights, and your family dinners. Your support means the world to us." Richard Aronson wrote for the My Pi website that his father, Larry Aronson, began developing his own recipe for deep-dish pizza in the 1950s. The 4elder Aaronson continued working on the recipe while attending business school at Northwestern University. "My dad based his pizza recipe on improving his favorite pizza," Richard Aronson wrote. "He studied and experimented with tomatoes that were not as acidic and he developed a 'spice pack' that would enhance the flavor of the tomatoes on his pizza." Larry Aronson worked his way up through the business world to become a partner in a major financial brokerage firm, all while people said he should open his own pizzeria, Rich Aronson wrote. And soon afterward, Larry Aronson did just that. The first My Pi location opened in 1971 at 6568 N. Sheridan Rd., across from Loyola University in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Green pepper deep dish pizza at My Pi Pizza in Chicago. Jason Little for theOver the years, My Pi opened more than 20 restaurants in nine states. Rich Aronson wrote on the pizzeria's website that My Pi was the first Chicago deep-dish pizza restaurant outside of Illinois, and was touted as the best pizza in in the towns where it opened. Many Chicagoans fondly remember the flagship My Pi location at 2417 N. Clark St., just north of Fullerton Parkway in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, which opened in 1978. In an article published Thursday, Ashok Selvam of Eater recalled the distinctive atmosphere of the Lincoln Park location: "The dimly lit space featured a salad bar in the center, and an enclave hiding two arcade video games where takeout customers would hear Pac-Man gobbling up pellets or Mike Haggar from Final Fight punching out bad guys." But even before the Lincoln Park location opened, there were My Pi franchises in Florida; Minnesota; Connecticut; Colorado; and Long Island, New York, the My Pi website noted. More franchises opened in other cities across the country through the late 70s and early 80s. My Pi also opened Aronson family-run locations in north suburban Winnetka in 1982, and Wilmette and Wheeling in 1985. A west suburban Glen Ellyn restaurant that started as a franchise in 1976 reopened as a family-run restaurant in 1984. Larry Aronson called it a day at the Lincoln Park My Pi in 2008, and the Bucktown location is now the only one left. On its website, My Pi touts its one-of-a-kind pizza in the pan — with its tomato sauce using San Marzano-style Roma tomatoes and a secret recipe of herbs and spices. Rich Aronson also notes on the website that My Pi's fresh homemade dough uses a recipe his father developed as a fourth-generation baker whose family came to the U.S. from Bialystock, Belarus, in 1905. The sausage is made from fresh, primal-cut meat with herbs and spices to match the tomato sauce, and all the cheeses on the pizzas are artisan-made in central Wisconsin, My Pi notes. My Pi has also been long known for its made-to-order salads and homemade desserts. Rich Aronson and the My Pi family wrote that My Pi's last day of service will be in late June, and they will continue accepting nationwide shipping orders through June 22. "Come by for one last bite and help us say goodbye the best way we know how — over great pizza," Aronson wrote.
