After over half a century of cheesy, saucy, deep-dish glory, one of Chicago’s most iconic pizza institutions is calling it quits. My Pi (yes, that one with the Greek symbol and the buttery crust) has announced it will permanently close its Bucktown location on June 29, marking the end of a pie-slinging era.
Founded in 1971 by Larry Aronson across from Loyola University in Rogers Park, My Pi helped put deep dish on the national map, opening 25 restaurants across nine states at its peak. Its distinctive recipe, which Aronson began perfecting in the '50s, used lower-acid tomatoes, a top-secret “spice pack” and dough built on generations of baking knowledge (his family arrived from Bialystock, Belarus, in 1905). Forget the gut-bomb stuffed pies of rivals: My Pi’s crust is lighter, airier and baked with balance in mind.
The current Bucktown location, tucked inside a low-key strip mall since 2000, is the last of its kind. It has weathered decades of shifting pizza trends and even a pandemic-era resurgence through takeout and nationwide frozen pie shipping options. But with rising costs, delivery app pressures and limited dine-in space, owner Rich Aronson (Larry’s son, who’s been working in the kitchen for 44 years) says the time has come to shutter.
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“I just feel bad that the more balanced kind of tuxedo version of the deep dish... is kind of going away,” the owner said to Eater. For fans who know the difference between stuffed and true deep dish, this one hits hard.
The restaurant will continue to ship nationwide through June 22, and it will make one last public appearance at Steve Dolinsky’s Pizza City Fest this fall. But, after that, it’s oven off.
So if you’ve got memories of those vertical signs in Lincoln Park, Pac-Man in the waiting area, spinach soufflé pies or made-to-order salads that somehow made you feel less guilty, this is your last chance to experience it all. Bucktown’s losing a classic slice of history.