Gino's East is a
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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-based
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
chain specializing in Deep Dish pizza. Two cab drivers opened the original location in 1966.
History
The original Gino's East was opened in 1966 by Sam Levine, Fred Bartoli, and George Loverde.
They bought a building on East Superior Street "but didn't know what to put in it," Levine told a
Tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...
reporter in 1983, when the restaurant was sold to new owners. "Then someone said, 'Put pizza in it.' But we didn't know pizza from nothing."
The original Gino's served deep dish pizza at 162 E. Superior St., a block from the
Magnificent Mile
The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block ...
, from 1966 until 2000. In 2000, the building was torn down due to structural issues. The restaurant moved to the 600 block of North Wells just two days later.
In 2003,
Buona Beef built a new building at 162 E Superior St. After a few years, Buona reached out to the president of Gino's East, Jeff Himmel, in hopes of selling them the new property. Gino's returned to their original location, in a new building, in June 2006.
Alice Mae Redmond
Although the original owners were Italian (Loverde was born in Sicily and Bartoli was a first generation Italian American), they did not create the recipe for Gino's deep dish. Alice Mae Redmond, a Black woman originally working as a cook at Pizzeria Uno, was hired by the friends. Alice Mae had worked at competing
Pizzeria Uno
Uno Pizzeria & Grill (formerly Pizzeria Uno and Uno Chicago Grill), or more informally as Unos, is a franchised pizzeria restaurant chain under the parent company Uno Restaurant Holdings Corporation. Uno Pizzeria and Grill is best known for its ...
for 17 years, where she developed a special dough recipe. She claimed that she did not like the crust at Uno's, saying it was "too hard to push".
Alice Mae continued to work at Gino's East as a pizza cook and recipe developer for 29 years, retiring in 1989. Her nephew, Glenn Hudley, continued to work as a manager.
Writing on the walls
Gino's East is famous for allowing their customers to write on their walls. The tradition started by accident in the 1970s when customers would use forks and knives to carve their initials into the tables. In an effort to save their dinnerware, employees began to encourage customers to write on the walls and even provided them with pens and markers. Now,
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
covers every inch of the restaurant. Newer locations and franchises do not allow their customers to write on their walls, making the flagship at 162 E Superior St. the only location that still upholds the tradition.
2015 5 Rabbit beer batch purchase
In 2015,
5 Rabbit Brewery announced that it would cease doing business with
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
because of his statements about Mexican immigrants. The brewery had brewed a batch of beer especially for a bar in
Trump Tower Chicago
The Trump International Hotel and Tower is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named for Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 100-stor ...
, but ceased shipping the beer to the bar and stated that the beer would be renamed to '
Chinga Tu Pelo' (Fuck Your Hair),
in an apparent reference to
Trump's hair
Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has attracted considerable media attention during his career as a celebrity personality, businessman, and politician. He has been portrayed and appeared in popular culture since th ...
.
A few days after that, Gino's East purchased that batch of beer from the brewery.
Deep Dish Pizza Ingredients
Gino's buys their sausage from a Chicago-based family.
For its vegan pizza, it uses vegan cheese from
Daiya
Daiya Foods Inc. is a Canada-based dairy-alternative food company located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was established in 2008 by Andre Kroecher and Greg Blake. Daiya's original (and likely its best known) products are cheese analogu ...
.
Gino's Brewing Co.
Founded in 2015, Gino's Brewing Co. opened inside of the Gino's East River North location in 2015. McMahon focused on creating beers that followed traditional brewing methods, and leans towards lower alcohol by volume beers.
In 2015, all four of the brewery's flagships won medals at the U.S. Open Beer Championship, winning over 4000 submissions. Lasalle St. Lager won a gold, Broken English won silver, Killarney Connection won bronze and Gino's Pale Ale won bronze.
Expansion
The company subsequently opened other locations in the
Chicago Metropolitan Area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
, including
Naperville
Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city.
Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was established by the banks of the DuPage river, ...
,
Rolling Meadows,
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
,
Deerfield,
Oak Lawn, and
Highland, Indiana. Another location opened in downtown
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...
, a popular tourist destination near Illinois. The Oak Lawn location closed in 2008. The Naperville location closed in late 2010 and the Deerfield location closed in 2012. There was one Gino's East location that operated in
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, California, Red ...
but closed in 1991. Additionally, Gino's East operates a
mail-order
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
* Sending an order form in the mail
* Placing a telephone call
* Placing a ...
business, where patrons can order frozen
pizzas
Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...
and have them shipped overnight. The company opened its first restaurant located outside the Chicago area in
Granger
Granger may refer to:
People
*Granger (name)
*Hermione Granger, a fictional character in Harry Potter
United States
* Granger, Indiana
* Granger, Iowa
* Granger, Minnesota
* Granger, Missouri
* Granger, New York
* Granger, Ohio
* Granger, Texas ...
,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, but closed it in 2012.
The restaurant eventually moved from its Superior Street location into another space at 633 North Wells Street (in the former Chicago location of
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl En ...
). The tradition of writing on the walls, however, remains the same in the new location. The original location on Superior Street reopened in 2007. In 2014, the River North location moved just south of 633 N. Wells to 500 N. LaSalle Street, a building previously occupied by nightclub Lasalle Power Co.
In 2014 the company announced expansion into Texas (ATX Brands acquired franchising rights to operate the chain outside the State of Illinois), with the first location outside of Chicago to be located in
The Woodlands with a November 2014 opening, followed by a January 2015 opening in
Willowbrook, Houston Willowbrook is an area in northwest Houston, Texas, United States bordered by the Cutten Road to the east, Grant to the north, Rockland to the west, and Beltway 8 to the south. Sam Houston Race Park is one mile away.
Government and infrastructure
T ...
. A San Antonio location opened sometime within the first quarter of 2015 along with an
Arlington, TX
Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...
location. A
Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Un ...
location opened in late June 2015. The locations in Texas (
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, s ...
,
DFW Metroplex
DFW may refer to:
Businesses
*, an early twentieth century German aircraft manufacturer
*Dutch FilmWorks, a film distributor
*Duty Free World, a US-based in-flight shopping company
Government agencies
*Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass ...
) are former
Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill locations which were company-owned by ATX Brands.
Nashville
In 2019 Gino's East opened its first Tennessee location in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
. Located at 311 3rd Avenue S. This location is also home to The Comedy Bar, a Chicago-based comedy club. The new location opened in the SoBro neighborhood of Nashville, on March 14, National Pi Day. A $3.14 combo special of a slice of thin crust pizza and a can of Old Style beer was offered to the first 100 guests as well as a pizza eating contest where the winner received a year of free pizza. The Nashville location boasts a large outdoor patio with jumbo yard games (Jenga, horseshoes and cornhole) a late night pizza window and a dual inside and outside bar. Murals by Nashville artist Brett Hunter can also be found throughout the restaurant.
Los Angeles
In 2020 a franchise was opened in Los Angeles, located at 12924 Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA. The new location took over a building that originally housed Rock 'n Pies.
Today Gino's East has 10 locations.
References
External links
*
{{coord, 41.89602, -87.62303, type:landmark, display=title
Pizza chains of the United States
Restaurants in Chicago
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1966
Italian restaurants in the United States
1966 establishments in Illinois