Bigger Is Better At Pizzeria Uno - in-house marketing effort for beer sales - Brief Article

Cheers, May, 2000 by Nancy Backas

Beverage sales: averaging 18% to 20% of total at company-owned units

Total restaurant sales: $198,560,000

Consumer product sales: $10,568,000

TOTAL: $214,233,000 (note: this represents 53 weeks)

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

If Chicagoans knew anything about pizza before 1943, it was probably because they were Italian. Ike Sewell changed all that when he created the Deep Dish Pizza. He figured that if he combined some old Italian recipes with large quantities of the good quality meats, spices, vegetables and cheeses, pizza would no longer be just a snack, but a full meal.

So he opened the first Pizzeria Uno and gained a fast reputation. So quickly did his idea catch on, that there was soon not enough room for all the customers and he opened Pizzeria Due one block away in 1955 in a charming Victorian mansion. To this day people argue about which pizza is better, Uno's or Due's. Sewell's pizza became known as Chicago pizza and until 1978, one had to travel to Chicago to taste the original.

Pizzeria Uno left the friendly confines of Chicago in 1978 to introduce the world to pizza served in a dish, a meal in itself. The first unit was opened in Boston. A year later the franchising began and today there are 79 franchised units, and 103 company-owned restaurants under both the Pizzeria Uno[ldots]Chicago Bar & Grill and Pizzeria Uno Restaurant & Bar names, in 29 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Seoul, Korea. The company also has a consumer products division which supplies American Airlines, movie theaters, hotel restaurants, colleges and supermarkets with Pizzeria Uno brand products.

The menu diversified in 1994 when saut[acute{e}] stations, char broilers, grills and fryers were added allowing new menu items like charbroiled steaks and hamburgers, grilled chicken dishes, pasta and desserts. In 1996, new prototype restaurants were unveiled to capture the feeling of old Chicago and a comprehensive beverage program was instituted. Last year, with a commitment to the new "Bigger and Better" mantra, Uno started offering larger portions.