Chicago Deep Dish Pizzeria to Close After 50 Years in Business

After half-a-century in business, a Chicago pizzeria known for their piping hot deep dish pies will be closing its final location at the end of June.

This marks the second notable Chicago pizza chain closure this year, following the closure of nearly one-third of Home Run Inn restaurants. Although they're maybe more known for their line of frozen pizzas, this is a brand that is a cultural institution in Chicago. They've been open since 1947, nearly 80 years, and they are synonymous with the tavern-style, square-slice pizza.

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READ MORE: Iconic Chicago Pizzeria Closes One-Third of its Restaurants

The pizza served as My Pi, however, is known for that thick, hearty pie, and its final location in Chicago's Bucktown will close on Sunday, June 29th, per Eater Chicago. My Pi took to Instagram to reveal that they would be closing. They will leave behind quite a history, as My Pi is one of the pizzerias credited with popularizing deep dish style pizza in the Chicago region.

At one point, they had 25 locations across nine states, and were known to ship pizzas all over the country. Their roots go back to 1971, their first location on Sheridan Road in Chicago.

Eater Chicago caught up with My Pi owner Rich Aronson, who said that business has been difficult as of late. The restaurant continued to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to an influx in takeout and delivery orders, as well as frozen pizza shipments. Aronson noted that increased competition from third-party delivery services also hurt the restaurant. Not to mention, he's been at the pizza grind for 44 years.

Aronson was only four-years-old when his father, Larry Aronson, opened the restaurant's first location, the aforementioned Rogers Park eatery. Other locations would follow, famously the My Pi in Lincoln Park, which featured a salad bar and two arcade video games such as Pac-Man and Final Fight. The Lincoln Park location closed in 2008, per Eater Chicago.

The future of My Pi (or "My Pie," as the Greek mathematical symbol on their logo has led to some debate on the spelling) could still change, however. While Rich Aronson owns the pizzeria, his parents own the concept, per Eater Chicago. There's the possibility he could sell the pizzeria's assets and recipes to a potential buyer, but right now, the concern for Aronson is that his staff of 13 is supported in lieu of the eatery's closure.

Aronson adds that My Pi's deep dish has long been a "true representation" of what the popular Chicago pie is all about. Underscoring this is a "buttery, airy crust," which in itself is different from more common deep dish pizzas, which prioritize a heavier, stuffed crust.

The loss of the true deep dish style pizza on the bustling Bucktown area is a pain-point for Aronson as he readies closing the shop that made him and his family indispensable to Chicago history:

I just feel bad that the more balanced kind of tuxedo version of the deep dish — which is perfectly balanced, and never goes out of style like a tuxedo — is kind of going away because people don’t realize that they’re different, unfortunately. That makes me sad - Rich Aronson, per Eater Chicago

Read more about the imminent closure of Chicago-staple My Pi on Eater Chicago's website.