Sharpies Pizza + Cocktails

Sharpies Pizza serves Detroit Squares near Bucktown and Lincoln Park | Eater Chicago

"A new pizzeria specializing in Detroit squares on Elston Avenue between Lincoln Park and Bucktown centers its identity on a three-eyed alien dog named Sharpie, the mascot and namesake. The restaurant's story begins with chef Ryan Bair and co-owner Scott Koehl, who met while working at Ada Street, the acclaimed restaurant founded by Michael Kornick; Bair started there as a dishwasher. When Kornick moved to Colorado in 2021 and during the pandemic, Koehl and Bair bought Ada Street, which is tucked east of Elston in a slumbering area that also includes the Hideout Bar; Ada Street is more formal and often requires reservations, and a pizzeria could appeal to concertgoers at nearby venues like Hideout, Salt Shed, and Outset. Drawing on Ada Street’s popular focaccias, Bair experimented with Detroit-style pizza during the pandemic, developing a three-day fermentation process and settling on a cheese blend of Wisconsin brick and mozzarella; the pies are often stacked with pepperoni, and specialty pies include the Sweet & Spicy Space Candy (bacon, pineapple, goat cheese, pickled red onion, and sambal) and the Onion Eclipse (caramelized onion, cheese fondue, and garlic breadcrumbs). The sausage is described as fennel-forward, a clear upgrade compared to the limp ground sausage that some Detroit pizzerias use; Bair—who grew up in Chicago’s suburbs and has no Michigan ties—says he finds himself craving “the signature brownie-like square edges of a Detroit pie versus any Chicago pizza, Pequod’s caramelized crusts included.” Koehl focuses on beverages: draft cocktails all feature the same base, a fruity blend called Atomic Juice, and there’s a beer collaboration with Forbidden Root. Pizza is only part of the equation—there are double-fried wings breaded for a remarkable crunch, The Burning Star (a tribute to everyone’s favorite fried onion appetizer), and a Space Debris Salad that includes fried potatoes and might remind diners of a Pittsburgh Salad. The space leans into nostalgia and sci-fi: two vintage video-game machines (NBA Jam and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time) greet customers, a UFO fabricated by the same artist who created the wooden tree previously housed in the space nods to the venue’s past (when Fort Willow opened), and the overall sci-fi motif powers the room; quarter-munchers and a second-floor private event space—treated as a secret speakeasy with a special menu of Ada Street favorites and the option to order from the pizzeria—round out the concept. Ownership hopes the mascot will develop a backstory and that customers will buy merchandise, and when asked the rhetorical question “Who would win in a fight: Sharpie or Chuck E. Cheese?” Koehl replies, “I don’t think Sharpie’s going to fight. No, I think Sharpie teleports away.” Maybe the rodent and canine will grab a drink together in the ball pit." - Ashok Selvam