By Andrea Cornelius
The UNITY News

Diners crowd the small green waiting room inside the century-old brick building in Chicago’s northside neighborhood. They line up in twos, threes and fives – and hungrily read the menu to place their orders in advance.

The outdoor seating area is full and servers are bustle through the doors with large pizzas in either hand.

The wait is up to thirty minutes, but no one seems to care. After all, this is the original Pizzeria Uno – a Chicago landmark and birthplace of the iconic Chicago deep dish pizza.

“This isn’t even busy. There are a few empty tables and everything,” said server Sabhia Zaghdoud, who wore the black uniform of the restaurant. “You should see a Friday night – there’s a two-hour wait and every table is filled.”

The restaurant’s walls are decorated with photos, news clippings and plaques outlining its rich history.
As customers move deeper into the restaurant, they can gaze at decorations that include the awards and accomplishments of Uno’s owner, Ike Sewell.

Sewell is credited with creating the deep dish pizza in 1943. Back then, pizza was commonly eaten as a snack but Sewell wanted to make it a meal – the main entrée, the star.

So, Sewell created a pizza with a thick golden-brown crust, lined with grated cheese, toppings of meat and vegetables, crushed tomatoes and finally another layer of cheese.

That’s when Chicago’s pizza war began. Others followed Sewell’s success, devising new ways to make pizza. In the 1970s, Giordano’s created the stuffed pizza.

Different from deep dish, stuffed pizza is distinguished by an additional layer of crust spread thinly atop the layer of cheese, said Chicago Tribune food critic Phil Vettel.

Word of Chicago-style pizza spread, and Pizzeria Uno and Giordano’s franchised and expanded their business across the country. However, success did not change the Pizzeria Uno. The restaurant continues to use the original recipe, reside in the same building and order from the same vendors.

Back in the original Pizzeria Uno’s crowded waiting room, tourists from all over the world wait to try the pizza that started it all.

Deep dish pizza is now served across the country. For the people standing in line, no other pizza matches the original at Pizzeria Uno.

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