Uno Pizzeria Would Be Totally Different If It Weren't For A Bad Enchilada
When you're craving something hearty, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be the way to go. The dish is characterized by its thick, raise-edge crust, which is baked in a pie pan, as per Pizza Chicago. The cheese is added directly on top of the crust, then toppings, and finally sauce on top.
Uno Pizzeria is best known for its Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas. In fact, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo actually invented the deep-dish pizza before opening the first Uno location in Chicago in 1943, via Pequod's Pizza. The new style of pizza took off from there and was adopted by a widespread of other pizza places. Today, it is one-half of the ultra-divisive Chicago versus New York-style pizza debate, according to The Travel.
Although the restaurant chain was responsible for popularizing a whole new style of pizza, it may not have been a success at all if it weren't for one bad enchilada.
One owner wanted a different style of food
Sewell was born and raised in Texas, reports the Chicago Tribune, and he loved the Mexican food that was readily available in the region. As an adult, his work brought him to the Midwest, and he landed in Chicago in 1943, via LStop Tours. That same year, he met Riccardo, who already owned Riccardo Restaurant and Gallery, via Chicago Tribune. The two became fast friends, and they discussed the possibility of opening a restaurant together. Sewell craved the Mexican food that he had grown up loving, and the duo decided to taste-test a few menu options to settle on the cuisine they'd serve.
After trying enchiladas, Mental Floss reports that Riccardo became so sick, he refused to try any more Mexican food for the restaurant. Instead, he suggested that they pursue pizza. Sewell liked the taste of the pizza, but still wanted something hearty and reminiscent of the enchiladas he craved. The duo is credited with the invention of deep-dish pizza in 1943 in Chicago after they used lots of sauce and cheese in the thicker crust to quell the enchilada craving, via Pequod's Pizza.
Sewell wasn't sure they'd be successful
Sewell was reportedly concerned that their pizza business wouldn't take off, according to Mental Floss, because there was already an abundance of pizza places in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood. He wasn't sure the deep-dish style pizza was unique enough, and he worried that people may prefer to stick with what they were already familiar with: the standard flatbread-style pizza. Fortunately, the co-founders moved ahead with the business plan and opened "The Pizzeria" in the basement of a Chicago mansion in 1943, via Mental Floss.
The location doubled as a bar, and while most patrons initially came for the drinks, they were enticed by the pizza and decided to give it a try. Mental Floss reports that the name was changed after a second location was opened a few blocks away, and to distinguish between the two, they were named "Pizzeria Uno" and "Pizzeria Due." The name was eventually changed to Uno Pizzeria & Grill when the brand went national. Today, there are 100 Uno Pizzeria & Grill locations serving up slices of Chicago deep-dish style pizza.