Operations
30 years strong: Nick Sarillo's journey from carpenter to Chicago pizza icon
After a disappointing dining experience, Nick Sarillo opened Nick's Pizza & Pub, which has thrived for 30 years by focusing on family connection through Chicago tavern-style pizzas. His success stems from consistent quality, a simple menu featuring family recipes and a company culture that prioritizes purpose and values.
June 26, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
Nick Sarillo's journey to opening his own pizzeria began with a disappointing trip to another restaurant. He thought he could do better than the service and food he and his family got and set out on a journey of discovery.
"I think pizza is the great food to have," he said in a phone interview. "You think about community and people getting together, right? Pizza is the perfect food."
Sarillo said a rise in costs means families aren't eating out as much. Kids often dictate where families eat, so catering to even the smallest patron can have an impact on restaurants.
Thirty years later, Nick's Pizza & Pub is still going strong with two units. A carpenter by trade, Sarillo learned as his restaurant grew. He used his father's recipes from a restaurant his dad owned in the past and continues to make tavern-style pizzas for which Nick's has become known in Chicago.
The restaurants don't have televisions in the dining room, only a couple in the bar area. The wooden-style interiors feature antiques and taxidermized animals for families to look at rather than staring at the television. They're more reminiscent of a ski lodge than a pizzeria. Families can chat about the restaurant's interior and have "good, old-fashioned conversations," something Sarillo believes is missing from society today.
"What we do is train our severs and our bussers and our hosts to have conversations with the kids," Sarillo said. "Talk to the kids first. Ask them how they're doing. What would they like to eat? We put the kids and the experience up front and center."
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A simple cheese pizza is tops at Nick's. Photo: Nick's Pizza & Pub |
On the menu
Nick's is most known for its original Chicago tavern-style pizza. There's also a double decker pizza – two Chicago thin crusts stacked together.
Cheese and pepperoni are the two most popular pizzas, but the Nick's Special is also a hit and features mozzarella cheese, sausage, mushrooms, onions and green peppers.
The menu also features a build-your-own calzone section. Gluten-free and cauliflower crusts are available for an upcharge.
"What's different about our pizza dough is we have an abundance of any topping anybody asks for," Sarillo said. "We have fresh vegetables; we're going to slice the vegetables and put them on top of the pizza on top of the cheese. We don't chop it and put it beneath the cheese. That is a differentiator."
As much as possible is made in house, including dough, which averages about 2,000 pounds a week. Sauces are made fresh. The sausage is prepared using a proprietary family recipe by Greco and Sons in Chicago.
There's also a fresh Italian beef sandwich on the menu using a recipe that has been handed down for generations.
"I'm not a fan of a very big menu," Sarillo said. "We don't have a very big menu. We have some munchies, fresh bruschetta we make from scratch and things like that; but it's a menu that can fit on one page. I'm a firm believer in that is part of our success – not having too many products."
Pizza accounts for about 75% of food sales at both restaurants and is baked in Baker's Pride deck ovens.
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An eclectic interior helps set Nick's apart from the competition. Photo: Nick's Pizza & Pub |
Operations
Having systems and training in place ensures continuity across the brand. "I think consistency across product and consistency across training are ultimately the keys metrics to success over 30 years," Sarillo said. "In order to do that you have to define your recipes and then hold that standard as 'This is our version of excellence … and this version of excellence is going to be our standard and we're going to keep it the same way."
Sarillo said training in the restaurant is important but so, too, is training employees about the company's values.
Chicago is saturated with pizzerias, so Nick's Piza & Pub's purpose of providing the community with an unforgettable place to connect with family and friends also sets it apart from the competition.
The purpose must be authentic and real; the team must believe in it and behave in it. Sarillo said "that's the secret sauce."
Nick's purpose and values are right there on the front of the brand's application for new hires. Once hired, those values are driven home in training.
"It's subtle, but it's really, really, really important," Sarillo said. He also serves as a restaurant consultant and coaches owners and operators to put the values and purpose at the forefront of operations.
COVID caused turnover, the likes of which Sarillo had never seen before. Today, however, the two restaurants have less than 20% turnover. Aside from the brand's purpose, new employees are also taught communication skills and how to create a safe environment.
Sarillo said Nick's Pizza & Pub has been challenged by changing demographics and how consumers visit and use the restaurants. Summers used to be the brand's busiest time. Since COVID, everyone wants to be outside, so sales aren't the same. Staying ahead of those changing demographics remains a challenge.
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Photo: Nick's Pizza & Pub |
Technology
Technology is an important tool for Nick's Pizza & Pub. Dine-in remains high in sales, but tech has helped to increase efficiency in carryout and in marketing. Sarillo said he plans to use AI for the answering service when the restaurant is closed. Sarillo uses an accounting program and is looking at AI to aid in the first step of hiring.
"I think what's important about technology is understanding its strengths and where it supports your organization, and then also understanding where it doesn't support and where not to use it," Sarillo said.
To a fledgling operator, Sarillo offers a piece of advice: remember what your core product is, be consistent and keep the menu simple. "You've defined excellence with your product, then define excellence with your culture," he said. "That means defining why you exist, what contribution are you making to you community … define them and make them part of your organization."
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
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