since 1943
The History of Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Pizza (pronounced peet-sa) is the Italian word for pie, although Americans refer to it as pizza pie – a redundancy perhaps indicating enthusiasm for the combination of crisp pastry, bland melted cheese, tomatoes and spices, which in a few short years has become a national favorite.
How Pizza Made it to the States
Pizza originated among peasants in and around Naples in medieval times. Originally, it was merely a paper-thin slice of bread dough baked in a hot stone oven. Later, other foods were added when available. After World War I, pizza spread to other Italian cities, each of which introduced variation.
While pizza came to America with Italian immigrants of the 19th century but has enjoyed its American boom principally since World War II. It first became popular in port cities like New York and San Francisco, gradually moving inland until today it is featured at more than 15,000 pizzerias from Boston to San Diego – even in Hawaii. It is more popular in America than in Italy, where it is most frequently served as an appetizer. In fact, tourists sometimes have trouble finding pizza in its native land. For Americans who take their pizza seriously, October 6-12 has been set aside as International Pizza Week by the International Pizza Clubs, of which comedian Jerry Colonna is president.
Who Invented Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Chicago deep dish pizza was born in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno, a basement restaurant at the corner of Ohio and Wabash in Chicago’s Near North Side. Rudy Malnati Sr. was Pizzeria Uno’s longtime manager, and the Malnati family credits him with the original deep dish recipe. His son, Rudy Malnati Jr., opened Pizano’s in 1991 to carry that recipe forward.
At the time, Americans ate pizza as a thin, late-night snack. The Pizzeria turned it into a meal. The crust was tall and baked in a round pan. Cheese went down first, then sausage, with tomatoes on top so nothing burned in the long bake.
Rudy Malnati Sr.’s Original Deep Dish Recipe
Rudy Malnati Sr. loved traditional food made from authentic recipes and quality ingredients, and he was a stickler about what left his kitchen. He doubted that pizza like his could be made at home, but in 1956 he shared his advice for the would-be pizza baker:
- A good raised bread dough tones the crust. High-grade canned tomatoes (not paste) and slices (not shreds) of bland mozzarella cheese, topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan and oregano, complete the basic pizza.
- If you can obtain good quality Italian sausage (Rudy made his own), add a substantial layer before baking.
- A hot oven is essential: bake at 600 degrees for approximately twenty minutes.
- Anchovies, onions or green pepper are other optional additions.
- A tossed salad, a chilled bottle of red Chianti wine and fresh fruit complete a peasant’s meal fit for the king of Naples.
The Malnati Family Legacy
Rudy Sr.’s recipe didn’t stay at Pizzeria Uno. It moved with his family. His son Lou, who worked alongside him at Uno, opened Lou Malnati’s in 1971. His son Rudy Jr. took a different road first. He built a career with the City of Chicago’s Department of Special Events and helped shape the Chicago Air and Water Show into the event it is today.
His passion for pizza never faded. Rudy Jr. opened a bar called Bottoms Up at State and Chestnut, and he and his mother, Donna, began experimenting with recipes there. In 1991, the space became the first Pizano’s.
Donna took over the kitchen and became the sole keeper of the family dough recipe, derived from Pizzeria Uno. Together, she and Rudy created Pizano’s thin crust. In 2010, Chicago Magazine’s Jeff Ruby called it “the most addictive thin crust in Chicago.”
Rudy Malnati Jr. passed away in 2021. Today, Pizano’s is still family-owned and operated, led by his wife, Annette, with the recipes, traditions and core staff he built.
How the Original Recipe Lives On at Pizano’s Today
Every Pizano’s pizza still starts from the family tradition: authentic recipes, quality ingredients, no shortcuts. Our World Famous Gourmet Deep Dish follows the Uno-era method, and it still takes 30–40 minutes to bake.
Many pies carry the family’s history in their names. Rudy’s Special (sausage, mushroom, onion, green pepper) is named for Rudy. The “Hey Hey” Jack Brickhouse Special honors the legendary Chicago broadcaster. Our thin crust comes from Donna’s dough, voted #1 by The Oprah Show and ranked #4 in the country by WGN.
More than 80 years after the first deep dish came out of the oven at Pizzeria Uno, the Malnati family is still making pizza the way Rudy Sr. taught it. The recipe has passed through three generations, from Rudy Sr. to Rudy Jr. and Donna, and now to Annette and the family carrying Pizano’s forward. Every Pizano’s pie is a piece of Chicago history, made by the family that helped create it.