Aurelio's Pizza is an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

restaurant chain which centers its business around the thin crust variety of

Chicago-style pizza Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to one of several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust "tavern-style" pizzas. The pan used to bake deep-dis ...

. Aurelio's Pizza has three corporate owned stores and 37 franchised locations in six states. Aurelio's Pizza is the oldest Chicago pizza franchise restaurant, franchising since 1974.

History

James Aurelio founded

Macomb, Illinois Macomb () is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, about southwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the c ...

' first pizza restaurant, The Italian Village, in 1952. In the mid-1950s, one of James' nephews, Joe Aurelio Jr., came to Macomb to work in the restaurant. Joe eventually moved back home to the Chicago area in 1959 and his cousin Louis Gaetano became co-owner of The Italian Village. Joe then founded his own pizza restaurant, named Aurelio's. This was a small, four table restaurant on Ridge Rd. in Homewood. Both Aurelios specialized in a distinctive thin crust pizza that was sliced in "Chicago style" square pieces. The company's slogan is "Aurelio's ''is'' Pizza!" When James Aurelio died, Louis Gaetano sold The Italian Village and it became an Aurelio's Pizza franchise. The chain's main competitors are

Rosati's Pizza Rosati's Authentic Chicago Pizza, doing business as Rosati's Pizza, is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Chicago-style pizza. Its headquarters is in Elgin, Illinois. There are more than 200 locations across the United St ...

, Nancy's Pizza, and

Home Run Inn Home Run Inn is a restaurant chain known for their Chicago-style pizza as well as frozen pizzas. Home Run Inn is headquartered in Woodridge, Illinois, United States. History In 1923, Mary and Vincent Grittani owned a small tavern on 31st Stree ...

, as well as many smaller family-owned establishments. The son of James Aurelio, Larry Aurelio, subsequently started a new pizza chain named Larry A's. The chain's specialties are its thin-crust pizza and "calabrese," known by most as a

calzone Calzone is an Italian oven-baked folded pizza. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in an oven and stuffed with prosciutto or salami, mozzarella or ricotta, and Parmesan or pecorino, as well as an egg. Different regio ...

In Popular Culture

Aurelio's appeared in May 2025 news reports about newly selected

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

and his connections to the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area. Aurelio's released a 2024 photo showing the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost with family and old friends at the original Aurelio's in

Homewood, Illinois Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,463 at the 2020 census. The village sits just a few miles south of Chicago proper. It is bordered by Chicago Heights and Flossmoor to the south, Hazel Crest ...

during a visit home. Capitalizing on the publicity, Aurelio's told media it was copyrighting "Pope-a-Roni" for a new pizza recipe.

References

External links

* {{Restaurants in Chicago Pizza chains of the United States European restaurants in Chicago Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1959 1959 establishments in Illinois Italian restaurants in Illinois

History

In Popular Culture

See also

References

External links