News

Pizzeria Uno aims to double unit count, compete in casual segment

January 11, 2005

Chicago Sun-Times: The company that owns Pizzeria Uno, Pizzeria Due and Su Casa — legendary Chicago restaurants started by deep-dish pizza inventor Ike Sewell — announced Jan. 11 it has agreed to sell its controlling interest to Centre Partners, a New York-based investment firm.

No cost figures were disclosed.

The three original restaurants in Downtown Chicago will remain unchanged. But the chain of 200 offshoot restaurants will double — to 400 or 500 restaurants — in the next few years, said Aaron Spencer, 73, who befriended the late Sewell 30 years ago and who will remain chairman of the Boston-based Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp.

The offshoot restaurants, where deep-dish pizza accounts for only about a third of all food sales, will be renamed Uno Chicago Grill and will be expanded throughout the United States to better compete with rivals such as Chili's, Applebee's, TGIFriday's and Ruby Tuesday's.

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