Great Lake

Great Lake Reopens After a 12-year Slumber With Pizza and More | Eater Chicago

"Back in 2009, GQ’s Alan Richman declared its pizza to be the best in America, a praise that sparked national attention, long lines—including one with Beyoncé and Jay-Z in it—and a cult following during a meteoric rise that ended in 2013; after a one-day 2019 pop-up and years of rumor, the shop quietly reopened in June 2025 a few blocks from its original spot. Co-owners Nick Lessins and Lydia Esparza are known for a no-nonsense approach that some find refreshing and others have criticized — Eric S. complained about “the horrible people skills of the staff” on Yelp in July 2009, and Joshua F. later “used the F-word to describe” the place — but the owners remain committed to their values. “Our old reputation doesn’t fit anymore,” says Lessins of the second iteration. “We’re a grocery and bakery that happens to have a kitchen we can cook out of.” There’s even a bit of playfulness about the name: “It’s one lake,” clarifies an employee, to which Esparza replies, “Good job.” The operation emphasizes farm-sourced ingredients: “Everything we make, bake, and cook starts with ingredients from local farms,” Esparza says, and menu items change often with availability. The first-floor setup is part market, part counter-service kitchen: you order on an iPad at a wood-topped counter (there’s no gratuity screen or visible tip jar), and shelves stock items the owners use and respect — Virginia peanuts (sold in large cans), Japanese rice from the Rice Factory, Rancho Gordo beans, aged soy sauce, tinned seafood, miso, Whirley Pop popcorn poppers, Ceremony coffee, Seven Cups tea, and tubs of Zingerman’s gelato alongside frozen berries from Mick Klüg Farm and Smoking Goose bacon; the refrigerator holds Carr Valley butter, Deerland Dairy yogurt, eggs, and Wisconsin cheeses, and baked goods like olive blueberry tea cake appear on rotation. Sandwiches are meticulously composed — heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and Hook’s Muenster on fresh oat porridge sourdough with mayonnaise and Eden’s mustard impressed the reviewer as a grown-up, better-executed version of health-food-store fare — and peanut butter and raspberry jam are made in-house from Virginia peanuts and pecans. The fresh-baked Danish sourdough rye is a highlight, dense and seeded with sunflower and flax; chocolate rye crackle cookies have a crispy exterior and soft interior that recall macarons. Pizza availability is limited (for now, only 3 to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; hours more broadly 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday), and the pies themselves retain the precise, careful craft that made the place famous: on one service day Lessins produced two pies — fennel, garlic, and Parmesan; and tomato, guanciale, Tropea onions, and fresh mozzarella — flattening dough slowly on wooden paddles and sliding 14-inch pies into the oven; the fennel pie featured perfectly lightly browned edges, pillowy air bubbles that spring back, plenty of thinly sliced fennel (fronds included) for texture, and “spot-on” proportions of garlic and Parmesan, at roughly $40 per pie. The small, quiet space encourages focused, unhurried eating — patrons overhear the rhythmic sounds of paddles and chopping — and reactions range from “It was actually pretty good,” replies Esparza, to customers saying “They sent me back for more,” “My mom was really into that salad yesterday,” and a solo diner declaring, “Oh my god.”" - Lisa Shames