CHICAGO PIZZA AND OVEN GRINDER COMPANY

What CHICAGO PIZZA AND OVEN GRINDER COMPANY does

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is a single-location Italian-American restaurant founded in April 1972 by Albert H. Beaver at 2121 North Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois. The restaurant operates as a walk-in only, no-reservations establishment housed in a historic Victorian building directly across from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, with Prohibition-era speakeasy ambiance built around intimate high-backed booths and rich wood paneling. Its signature product is the Pizza Pot Pie — an individual portion made from triple-raised Sicilian dough, house-made sauce, sausage from prime Boston butts, and whole mushrooms — offered in half-pounder and one-pounder sizes. Supporting menu items include Oven Grinders (Italian submarine-style sandwiches), antipasto, salads, Mediterranean bread, and Tortoni dessert. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from approximately $13 for dessert to $38 for a one-pounder Pizza Pot Pie, with valet parking at $16.

The business operates with a lean 9-employee footprint and three distinct revenue channels: dine-in at the Chicago location (the dominant stream), carryout via Clover online ordering, and nationwide frozen-pizza shipping through an exclusive Goldbelly marketplace partnership. Merchandise is sold via a Shopify storefront and digital gift cards through Loopz, providing ancillary revenue and brand-extension surfaces. Marketing relies primarily on earned media — features on Food Network ('Best Thing I Ever Ate'), Yelp Top 100 Pizza Spots 2024 (#27), CBS Chicago, NBC Chicago, and Time Out Chicago — supported by a mailing list and the restaurant's heritage positioning.

Operating hours run four to eleven hours per day, seven days per week, with Monday and Tuesday noted as the slowest days. The company is privately held and family-operated under the legal entity 'Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.' in Illinois, with no institutional investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or publicly disclosed financials evidenced in the available data. Strategic posture centers on protecting the heritage brand and signature recipe rather than multi-unit expansion, with Goldbelly serving as the primary vector for any incremental geographic reach.

Name

CHICAGO PIZZA AND OVEN GRINDER COMPANY

Legal name

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co.

Website

https://chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is a single-location, family-owned Italian-American restaurant in Chicago, founded in 1972, serving its signature Pizza Pot Pie, Oven Grinder sandwiches, and related dishes to walk-in diners, carryout customers, and nationwide Goldbelly shippers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Italian-American Casual Dining / Pizza Restaurant

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza QSR (THAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Frozen Pizza & Flatbreads (CRADADAB)

Keywords

• Pizza restaurant
• Italian-American dining
• Submarine sandwiches
• Deep dish pizza
• Casual dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Traditional sit-down restaurant service at 2121 N Clark St location. Operates as walk-in only with no reservations. Serves pizza pot pies, oven grinders (submarine sandwiches), salads, appetizers, and desserts. Revenue generated through food and beverage purchases during operating hours.
2. Carryout/Takeout: Carryout orders placed through Clover online ordering platform. Customers order ahead for pickup at the restaurant location.
3. Nationwide Shipping via Goldbelly: Shipped frozen pizza pot pies nationwide exclusively through Goldbelly marketplace. Enables customers outside Chicago area to experience the restaurant's signature dish.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company operates a single Chicago restaurant serving made-from-scratch Italian-American food, headlined by its signature Pizza Pot Pie (an individual, deep-dish-style pie with triple-raised Sicilian bread dough) and Oven Grinders (Italian submarine sandwiches). Supporting menu items include appetizers, salads, desserts, and a bar program, sold primarily through walk-in dining, online carryout, and nationwide frozen shipping via Goldbelly.

Product overview

Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is a single-location Chicago restaurant founded in 1972, operating as a walk-in-only dining establishment without reservations. The restaurant's portfolio centers on its signature Pizza Pot Pie—an individual, made-from-scratch dish unique to the establishment, available in half-pound and one-pound portions with vegetarian and crust options. Supporting the core product are Oven Grinders (Italian submarine sandwiches), appetizers (Antipasto, Mediterranean Bread), salads (Chef's Salad, and four shared Salad Dinner varieties), and desserts (Tortoni). The company also offers nationwide shipping through Goldbelly, online carryout ordering via Clover, gift cards through Loopz, and a Shopify-based merchandise store. The restaurant has received notable press recognition including Food Network's 'Best Thing I Ever Ate' and Yelp Top 100 Pizza Spot designation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pizza Pot Pie Individual, made-from-scratch pizza pot pie in Half-Pounder or One-Pounder sizes, with vegetarian and crust options (white or whole wheat), for dine-in, carryout, and shipped nationwide via Goldbelly.
• Oven Grinders (Italian submarine sandwiches) Line of hot Italian submarine-style sandwiches served on bread in six varieties (Italian Combination, Sausage, Meatball, Italian Ham, Italian Salami, Vegetarian) for dine-in and carryout.
• Antipasto Appetizer platter of meats, cheeses, and vegetables marinated in house-made Italian dressing, sized to serve 2-4 people.
• Chef's Salad Generous single-serving salad with vegetables and two house dressings (sour cream garlic and sweet and sour poppy seed).
• Mediterranean Bread House-made bread served as a complement to antipasto and salads.
• Salad Dinners Shared salads serving 2-4 as appetizers in four varieties: Great American, Country French, Italian Festa, and Classic Greek.
• Tortoni Italian frozen cream dessert flavored with rum and crushed macaroons, topped with toasted graham crackers.
• Drinks / Bar Menu Beverage offerings including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available at the bar.
• Goldbelly Nationwide Frozen Pizza Pot Pie Shipping Frozen Pizza Pot Pies shipped nationwide exclusively through the Goldbelly marketplace for customers outside the Chicago area.
• Branded Merchandise Branded apparel and merchandise sold through a Shopify-based online store linked from the restaurant's website.
• Digital Gift Cards Digital gift cards purchased through the Loopz platform and redeemable at the Chicago restaurant.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GoldbellycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoldbelly serves as the exclusive nationwide shipping partner for Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. Frozen pizza pot pies are shipped across the United States through Goldbelly's marketplace platform, enabling customers outside Chicago to experience the restaurant's signature dish.
• CloverminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClover provides online ordering platform for carryout orders. Customers can place carryout orders through Clover's digital ordering system linked from the restaurant's website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Goldbelly: Nationwide marketplace for shipping iconic regional foods; channel partner rather than competitor, but relevant comparable for the e-commerce/ship-to-consumer business model the restaurant uses.

Broad incumbents

• Pizza Hut: Largest pizza chain in the U.S. with dine-in, carryout, delivery and frozen retail; relevant comparable for consumer pizza occasions though positioned on value and convenience rather than heritage.
• Uno Pizzeria & Grill: Pioneer of Chicago deep-dish pizza with multiple locations nationwide and broader menu; overlapping heritage-Chicago-pizza positioning but with chain-scale distribution.

Direct peers

• Burt's Place: Small, family-run Chicago deep-dish pizzeria founded by a former Pequod's pizzaiolo; comparable as a single-location heritage Chicago pizza destination with loyal local following.
• Pequod's Pizza: Chicago-area pizzeria famous for its caramelized-crust deep-dish pan pizza; competes in the same Chicago-style pan pizza category with similar sit-down casual dining model.
• Giordano's: Iconic Chicago deep-dish/stuffed pizza chain with multiple Illinois locations; competes directly with Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder for the same local and tourist pizza-occasion visits.
• Gino's East: Heritage Chicago deep-dish pizza brand with sit-down restaurants, frozen retail pizza, and nationwide shipping; comparable mix of dine-in plus Goldbelly-style distribution.
• Lou Malnati's Pizzeria: Chicago deep-dish pizza brand with multi-location footprint and national shipping; directly comparable as a Chicago deep-dish specialist with carryout and ship-to-consumer channels.

Emerging players

• Patxi's Pizza: Multi-location deep-dish and thin-crust pizza concept with sit-down dining; comparable artisan-pizza positioning though operating at broader scale than the anchor.
• Homeslice: Casual sit-down pizza concept focused on individual-sized pies with bar program; comparable artisan-casual dining model with similar per-person ticket economics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicago-pizza-and-oven-grinder-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CHICAGO PIZZA AND OVEN GRINDER COMPANY