Retro is in

school pizza just got an upgrade

Hi, everyone!

I’d like to thank all of you who donated to Davida’s family’s GoFundMe last week. The outpouring of support from our Chicago network makes us feel loved, supported, and grateful — I can’t stress to you how much that means to us.

You guys know I always try to keep The Party Cut’s diet varied, but this week we’re back on the subject of pizza. That’s because I dropped in on a shiny new place that you might not have heard was open yet. The building that houses the business is at an extremely busy intersection, and it once housed a legendary sandwich shop that has been closed for years, with rampant speculation as to what it might become later. Its location is destined to shape its future success — because it’s across the street from the largest school in the city.

Retro Pizza, at the corner of Western and Addison, is now open.

I learned this fact via Block Club Chicago just a few days ago (they’re doing God’s work over there, by the way).

If you’re a long-time Chicagoan, you might remember that this tiny building used to house a sandwich joint called Hero’s Sub Shop. I have fond memories of that place, even though I only went a few times — they sold cheap but extremely filling subs, which seems to be a category of restaurant that’s been taken over by chains like Jersey Mike’s and Jimmy John’s. (And now, even those places aren’t cheap!)

Hero’s closed in 2017 after 50 years in business, and that little hut was shuttered, seemingly forever. But if any of you had driven by in the past few years, you probably noticed that it got a paint job, with a cheerful little Fiat painted on the side. There wasn’t much indication as to what was coming, but once the name “Retro Pizza” was painted on the side, I think it was safe to assume they weren’t going to sling tacos.

Just so you know beforehand, Retro Pizza is a takeout spot only.

It really is tiny. There are counters around the windows, but they’re a little high up (I’m sort of small), so I couldn’t stay and eat like I normally prefer. The building’s footprint is so minimal that it wouldn’t really support much seating anyhow.

And as to the pizza, Retro serves a specific type: Roman.

This would be pan-style, in rectangular form. Its signature is a light, airy, and crisp crust, and some places that serve this style often charge by weight. At Retro Pizza, however, they simply serve by portion size, which is small or large. A small portion is four slices, while a large is eight. They are priced based off your desired size and topping selection.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that Retro doubles as a quick coffee stop too. That means the shop also serves Dark Matter coffee along with pastries, if you’re looking for a pick-me-up. This being said, its current hours reflect the fact that it’s next to a school; for now it’s only open from Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., which means you won’t be able to order dinner from Retro, at least for now.

Though the manager on duty was fielding phone calls left and right while taking orders at the counter, he was cheerful and struck up a conversation with me. He let me know that Retro Pizza is owned by the same ownership of La Boulangerie & Co, which is where all the pastries come from. I’ve heard nice things about their bread, so moving on to pizza only makes sense.

The small margarita ($8.75) is topped with tomato sauce, an easy amount of fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, and basil.

I’ll get into how everything tasted in just a bit, because there are some additional details you’ll want to know.

This is the small house sausage ($8.75), which comes with tomato sauce, house-made sausage, parmesan, and mozzarella.

For those who want more of a supreme-style slice, the only pizza that fits that bill is called the Retro Chicago ($13.99 for small).

The bells and whistles here include sausage, pepperoni, red onion, mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes.

The last pizza I got was the barbecue chicken, which had red sauce, mozzarella, chicken, barbecue sauce, onion, and ranch on it ($13.99 for a small; the menu says there’s cilantro, too, but mine apparently didn’t have any.)

And finally, there are two sandwiches on the menu as well, including this turkey club ($9.99).

The manager told me that the bread for this sandwich is the baked pizza crust cut in half, and it comes with turkey, thick slices of mozzarella, arugula, and a red pesto. (The other sandwich is a sourdough grilled cheese, in case you’re curious.)

I brought everything out to my car and set up on my trunk.

Best way to dine, if you ask me. So here, we’ve got to zoom in on the crust a bit. Retro’s pizza crust is puffy, but it also has some chew to it without too much density. It’s light, but I wouldn’t exactly classify as crisp, at least within the entire sample I had. The pizza just has a really springy, focaccia-like quality to it, sans the olive oil you get with focaccia. There’s something unique about it that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I can’t quite say it’s like any Roman-style pizza I’ve had yet (which is admittedly a limited amount). It visually appears dense, but is pretty pillowy in the end.

A few nitpicky things.

The sausage pizza was half naked (which having been a former pizzamaker, I’ll admit can happen when you’re hand-sprinkling toppings on). The sausage pieces on it were quite small, in comparison to what was on the Retro Chicago pizza. It is, however, priced cheaply in comparison to some of the other pies.

I did strangely enjoy the barbecue chicken pizza more than I thought I would, because I’m so used to Roman-style pizza being somewhat true to its home cuisine, and the Retro Chicago felt more substantial thanks to its omnivorous toppings. The margarita (their spelling) was a pretty straightforward pie, though the roasted tomatoes were a bit sparse. I did enjoy the sandwich, which at about $10, might have been a better deal than some of the pizza.

But a fellow customer did point something out to me. While he was waiting for his order, he immediately started griping about the prices at the pizzeria, pointing out all the cheaper food options he can get elsewhere in the neighborhood. I sort of wrote his commentary off at first (you know how some people are about prices), but as we stood there, I watched the place fill up with high school kids on their lunch break. These pizzas are fine for adults who have their own incomes (or niche food newsletters), but I do wonder what kids can afford regularly for an off-campus lunch.

Nearby food options at that intersection include Wendy’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Jersey Mike’s, Popeyes, Rosati’s, Saffron and Salsa, Pi-Hi Cafe, a Circle-K, Domino’s, not to mention the Jewel-Osco and the Mariano’s just on the other side of the school. There’s probably more restaurants I missed, too, but you get the idea. The competition is fierce. And you know how teenagers are vacuum cleaners when it comes to food, and these lunch-sized portions are relatively light, even for a middle-aged adult like me. So combine the budget thing with the quantity situation, and you can see how things could get complicated.

Plus, there was one question I’d posed to the manager about an important scenario, which is what they’ll do in summer. Right now, there’s no plan quite yet, but Retro’s hoping to be on third-party delivery services by then.

Before I keep playing out what-ifs, I’m going to rewind a bit. Retro Pizza hasn’t even had a grand opening yet, which means everything I’ve experienced, from pricing, food, and even the operating hours, is likely subject to change. I just happened to come in extra early before the crowd has had a chance to swarm in. My preference, just like most food writers, is to let a place get into its groove before weighing in, but I had a perfect window in my day to visit, so I figured why not? Plus, I figured you guys would be interested in seeing a new place show up on the newsletter.

So keep your eye out on Retro Pizza; if you can fit in a visit during a weekday to try some new, light, quick-service pizza designed by a bakery, it’s a novel option at that intersection. I’d like to know what you think. Plus it’s nice to see those doors finally open — hopefully they’ll get a hero’s welcome (pun intended) once they set that official date.

Retro Pizza
3600 N Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 799-8196

Hours:
Monday - Friday: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.

---

Everyone loves pizza — and the new wave of it in Chicago just keeps going. If you guys enjoyed today’s free edition of The Party Cut, please do me a favor and share it, as word of mouth is the biggest thing that helps it grow:

Second of all, please consider signing up for a paid subscription, if you haven’t already.

It’s really to cover the expenses of the newsletter. If you guys help with some of the costs, I’ll continue to donate my weekends to working on it, as I believe in continuing to discuss Chicago’s food scene the only way I know how — on the street.

And lastly, just like many of you, I’m glued to the news. It’s been…a lot. Don’t forget to take care of yourselves, and be good to each other. Love you guys.