Pizz’Amici Is Open For Those Who Miss Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream | Eater Chicago
"Even though it just opened on Friday, November 15, it has been in the works for years, arriving in West Town with a built-in fan base from a trio of prior pizza projects. Located in a former barbershop at 1215 W. Grand Avenue, the project is the brainchild of Cecily and Billy Federighi, who, along with friend Bradley Shorten, were behind other pizza-centric projects, including the Instagram account Eat Free Pizza. “Brad [Shorten] is from Westmont, so Kim’s Uncle was like a homecoming for him,” says Cecily Federighi of the amicable business split; Shorten has since taken over the Westmont operation while the Federighis run this independent spot. Tavern-style pizza is the focus, alongside Italian-American dishes like sausage and peppers, meatballs, and caponata; housemade focaccia and a handful of salads—“a really clean arugula and a Caesar salad, which is my favorite,” says Federighi—are also available. “These are approachable dishes that you can share with the table before you get to the main event, which is the pizza,” she adds. Build-your-own toppings skew traditional—pepperoni, artichoke, green pepper, and onion—and the sausage comes from a previously developed recipe now made by local purveyor Makowski’s Real Sausage; fan-favorite hot honey, the only “wild card,” says Federighi, is on the toppings list too. Pizzas are cooked in a PizzaMaster electric oven with capacity for about 30 pies at a time: “Because this was a barbershop there’s no gas,” says Federighi of the all-electric kitchen. “We are using that oven for pretty much everything.” Their pizza journey began in 2018 when pizza was initially a means to an end—“We initially wanted to open a bar together,” says Federighi—and evolved from apartment R&D and Friday-night Eat Free Pizza raffles to opening Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream in 2020 next to Maria’s Community Bar, working with Marz Community Brewing’s Ed Marszewski and Kim’s chef Won Kim. After starting with Sicilian-style squares and then their take on Chicago thin/tavern-style pies—an approach that gained local and national attention—“Once we started getting recognition locally and nationally for our pizzas, we just decided, yeah, there’s something to this and we should keep going,” says Federighi. Months before Pizza Fried Chicken Ice Cream closed in December 2022 they partnered with Marszewski in Westmont; that earlier concept’s name honored Kim Sinclair (the previous operator of Uncle Pete’s) who was friends with Maria of Maria’s Community Bar. The new restaurant’s name combines pizza with the Italian word for friend as a nod to the origins of friends sitting around a table eating pizza at their apartment. For now the spot is BYOB until a liquor license is obtained; the planned Italian-only wine list is being created by High Road Wine and Spirits’ Ken Fredrickson and Federighi describes the list as natural, crushable, and approachable. Sean “Gio” Giordano, formerly of Etta, will oversee the bar program with a leaning toward classic Italian cocktails and some out-of-the-ordinary spirits: “Everything is going to be drinks you’ve heard of before, but there will be something interesting about them,” says Federighi. The interior seats about 30 at tables and seven at the bar and was designed to feel like it had always been there but fresh—painted checkered hardwood floors, a Carrara marble-topped bar with red leather barstools, and a palette of cream, chocolate brown, and pistachio. Family photographs line the hallway to the bathrooms and Billy’s Uncle Sil, who passed away years ago, is prominently featured in photos and a painting behind the bar by friend Muriel Montgomery; the owners say they designated him the project’s patron saint. Don’t be fooled by 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett’s sign hanging outside—the place is a pizzeria. It is dine-in only for now with pickup launching next week and delivery upcoming; open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and reservations are available via OpenTable. “It definitely took longer than we expected but we’re happy we’re here now,” Federighi says, and “People kind of know who we are, and I feel like we’ve gathered a cult following over the years,” she adds, conveying that this feels like their landing spot after years of a rogue-pizza journey." - Lisa Shames
