More Than 5,000,000 Pizzas Served

Our ovens stayed busy and served over 5,000,000 pizzas! If we stacked all of these pizzas on top of each other, that’s as big as 791 Willis Towers.

Over $470,000 Donated

Your support helped raise over $470,000 for the Lou Malnati Cancer Research Foundation, proving how good things can happen with pizza.

Our Most Ordered Pizza? The Malnati Chicago Classic

Not including cheese pizzas, the Malnati Chicago Classic topped the charts as our most-ordered pizza, showing that Lou’s signature sausage blend is the real crowd favorite.

New Flavors to Savor

We introduced two new pizzas this year, Buffalou Chicken and Margherita Pesto, both available in Deep Dish and Thin Crust.

Lou’s Got Franked

With Portillo’s, we combined Chicago’s most famous foods and created a Chicago Dog Deep Dish for a limited time only.

#1 Pizza Chain

Thanks to all of you, Lou Malnati’s was ranked the #1 Pizza Chain in America on Yelp, based on customer reviews and ratings from across the country.

Love Was in the Air

Winners of our “Will Lou Marry Me?” contest shared their special moment together at our West Loop restaurant on Valentine’s Day.

What is… Deep Dish?

Lou’s appeared in the form of a question on the beloved trivia TV game show Jeopardy. 

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In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week, students, parents and administrators are encouraged to nominate local teachers online to acknowledge their hard work and dedication to the classroom.

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is planning to celebrate teachers across Chicagoland during Teacher Appreciation Week and they need the community’s help nominating dedicated educators making an impact on students’ lives. From April 22 – May 3, 2024, students, parents and fellow administrators across the greater Chicagoland area are encouraged to nominate their favorite K-12 teacher.

Over 80 local teachers will be celebrated in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix.  There will be 10 local teachers selected to win “Free Pizza for a Year” from Lou Malnati’s in the form of one free medium cheese pizza per week for 52 weeks and a $250 pizza party package for their school.  Additionally, 70 honorable mentions will be chosen to win a $100 Lou Malnati’s gift card during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6 – 10, 2024).

Individuals can use an online form to nominate teachers from public or private schools throughout Chicago and surrounding communities, writing in 100 words or less why their favorite educator deserves to be recognized.  Entries will be judged on the criteria of originality and clear reasoning for nomination. Prizes include:

Grand Prize Teacher (10 winners total across Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix)

• “Free Pizza for a Year” (One free medium cheese pizza per week for 52 weeks)
• $250 catering pizza party package for their school

Honorable Mention Teachers (70 winners total across Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix)

• $100 Lou Malnati’s gift card

“Teachers are the backbone of our local communities,” says Marc Malnati, owner of Lou Malnati’s and a second-generation family member who proudly carries on the Malnati family tradition. “They work hard every day to give kids the tools they need to learn, grow and thrive and we’re excited to honor them and give appreciation for all they do for kids and families across Chicago.”

For more information about the nomination process, including complete rules and instructions, visit http://zolbeach.com/nominateyourteacher.

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Available at all locations starting April 5, Lou Malnati’s will give away a free small Lou’s x Mike’s Hot Honey Deep Dish Pizza to over 7,000 lucky guests to celebrate this limited time collab that elevates pizza to new heights with a craveable Chicago meets New York twist.

Lou Malnati’s – theChicago pizza legend long celebrated for its authentic flavor and buttery-crust deep dish, is collaborating with New York’s most buzzworthy condiment, Mike’s Hot Honey, to give hungry fans a chance to savor a pizza as rich in flavor as it is in history.  Available starting on National Deep Dish Pizza Day (April 5), Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria will introduce Lou’s x Mike’s Hot Honey Pizza, a limited-time offering in both deep dish and thin crust for dine-in, carryout and delivery at all Lou Malnati’s locations in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix.

Lou Malnati’s meets Mike’s Hot Honey in this spicy collab and both brands are excited to introduce the new recipe as the first official deep dish partner of pizza’s hottest condiment.  Pairing Lou’s legendary deep dish pizza and signature ingredients with the sweet heat drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey combines the flavors of two iconic pizza cities.  The collaboration brings together the best of Chicago and New York with the highest quality ingredients to elevate the guest experience and ignite their taste buds.  It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savory drip.

The new legendary deep dish features mozzarella, sausage, giardiniera and cupped pepperoni topped with a drizzle of sweet and spicy Mike’s Hot Honey.  Created using Lou’s iconic deep dish pizza and adorned with ingredients symbolic of Chicago, it’s layered to capture the generous drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey which has become an instant classic on the New York pizza scene.

“After an exhaustive search over many years, we finally found something from New York that is worthy of adding to our Chicago deep dish pizza.  A little drizzle of Mike Kurtz’s Hot Honey creates a spectacular marriage of sweet and savory that every pizza lover will want to experience,” said Marc Malnati, owner of Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

In addition to the launch of the Lou’s x Mike’s Hot Honey Pizza which will be available in both deep dish and thin crust, Lou Malnati’s will offer guests the chance to sample the sweet and spicy flavor profile of Mike’s Hot Honey as a sauce option for their traditional and boneless chicken wings.  The limited-time pizzas will be available in all sizes and prices will vary.  Guests will also have the option to drip more sweet heat on their pizza or wings with the purchase of an additional Mike’s Hot Honey 1 oz dip cup.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the oldest family name in Chicago pizza to create our first deep dish pizza collaboration,” said Mike Kurtz, founder of Mike’s Hot Honey.  “As a New Yorker, I was weary about deep dish pizza, but after trying Lou Malnati’s, I’m sold and I can’t wait for their guests to taste this delicious Chicago meets New York creation and have the opportunity to enjoy our hot honey on thin crust pizza and wings, too.”

In addition, Lou Malnati’s and Mike’s Hot Honey will launch with a week-long celebration starting on April 5 through April 11.  To kick off the hot new collab and limited-time only pizza and wings, Lou’s will surprise and delight customers with activities, swag and will give away a free small Lou’s x Mike’s Hot Honey Deep Dish Pizza to over 7,000 lucky guests.  In honor of the partnership and National Deep Dish Pizza Day, hungry fans can also enter to win Free Pizza for a Year and there will be 7 lucky winners to celebrate the 7 ingredients on the new pizza.  For more details about the collab, please visit Mikes Hot Honey Pizza.

For more information on this limited time offering as well as hours of operation, locations or to place an order, please visit loumalnatis.com.  Follow Lou Malnati’s and Mike’s Hot Honey onFacebook,X (formerly known as Twitter)orInstagram.

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Lou Malnati’s is proud to support the communities we are a part of through a generous donations program, multiple fundraising opportunities, and sponsorships.

As kids are able to safely get back on the ballfield, basketball court, or wherever they play, we are happy to support!

This weekend, Lou Malnati’s is sponsoring some of Illinois’ top high school teams who will be facing off at the Chipotle Clash of Champions basketball tournament. With so many events cancelled with year, we are grateful for the chance to help support what is shaping up to be a fun, competitive weekend tournament!

View the complete list of teams and watch the live stream here: https://www.chipotleclashofchampions.com/.

In 2020, we sponsored 38 youth based organizations. We were also able to host over 700 groups for our Giveback Night fundraisers, helping these organizations raise funds for future projects and goals!

Want a piece of the pie? Learn more about our donations, fundraising, and sponsorship programs here: http://zolbeach.com/fundraising

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District Manager Mike Sterner, Manager Paul Lelli, and Manager Andrea Castillo were joined by the Mayor of Glendale, Jerry Weiers for the event.

After the ribbon was cut, the crew enjoyed a celebratory slice (or two!) of our legendary deep dish pizza!

We are proud to serve the Glendale community from our new location at 7507 W Rose Garden Lane, open Monday-Thursday at 4pm and Friday-Sunday at 11am, offering carryout, delivery, and catering services.

STOP BY AND SATISFY YOUR CRAVINGS FOR CHICAGO’S BEST DEEP DISH PIZZA!

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Dear Team,

We so appreciate the incredible individual efforts and sacrifices that so many of you have made since the
beginning of the spread of the Coronavirus. With each new day, it becomes harder and harder to imagine
business as usual, yet we have come together in a spirit of pressing on to provide employment while we can.
Today, Governor Pritzker implemented a “Stay-at-Home” order, but serving food safely for curbside and
delivery will remain viable, giving us the chance to be part of creating comfort during this time of
unprecedented fear and uncertainty.

Over the past 49 years, our pizza has become the primary comfort food for most of Chicago, and for much of
America. We clearly believe that providing it to our faithful customers makes the dreary days a little brighter.
If we can keep our team healthy, we will do all we can to remain open.

We are in this together, and as a company we are doing what we can to keep our people working:

• Offering food every day to each of our staff members to feed their family at a 75% discount. (Please know
that we are also feeding the hospital workers on the front lines of nearly every major hospital in our
community as well.)
• Created a way for people whose hours have been affected to get on a list for us to use in order to place
them in jobs throughout the company where hours are available. This might be at a different store or
doing a different job, but we are committed to keeping you working if you want to work. Lynn Young is
heading up this effort, so please be ready for a call from her if you have signed up for this list.
• Opened nine carry out stores for additional daytime hours, which will provide hours for people willing to
answer phones, deliver pizzas, and help with curbside pickup. We have drivers willing to take city people
to the suburbs, for those without transportation.
• Initiated curbside pickup only to keep our team from having close contact with customers. Adding
greeters and runners has increased the number of positions available in our carryout stores.
• Tastes of Chicago is selling lots of frozen pizzas right now. We have spots to fill in our Northbrook
warehouse and in our production facility on 31st St in the city.
• All restaurants are doing a deep clean in their dining rooms, etc. There are hours available for that, as well
as some administrative help for managers.
• We will pay your regular wage for all these positions. For those staff members that depend on tips, we will
pay a higher hourly rate than the usual tipped rate.
• And we are asking you to do your part. In order to keep working, we may ask you to work outside your
normal days, time, or locations. Be flexible and roll with the changes that are being presented to us every
day.

For those of you who aren’t able to shift your work locations, there are some options available:

• Look into your options for unemployment. If you are unable to take on shifts at other stores, this might
be a good option for you. It doesn’t cover your full pay, but it will support you for a portion of it. You will
need to initiate this by contacting your state department of Employment Security.
• If you are on Lou Malnati’s benefits, consider going on Furlough. Although you won’t be able to pick up
any hours, you can continue to receive benefits while also getting unemployment pay and come back to
work when things return to normal. During the next 30 days, we will keep you on our benefits and pay
your portion of the benefits contribution.

For those of you that are experiencing symptoms, or have sick family members at home:

• Stay at home if you are experiencing any fever, cough or shortness of breath
• Emergency Paid Sick leave policy has been created so you don’t have to choose between your health and
your job

Please ask your manager for additional details on any of the above information.

Until this pandemic has run its course, Malnati’s will do everything possible to stand behind our people. Taking
care of our work family is a core value that we hold dearly. To that end, the Malnati family (Rick and Tina,
Jeanne and Marc) are seeding an emergency fund with $200,000 to supply essentials for cash-strapped
families and individuals in our extended Lou Malnati’s family. This fund will operate as part of Kindness Rocks,
and details on how to request support will be coming very soon. In the meantime, we know that many of you,
and many of our loyal customers, have big hearts that will likely want to join in the giving as well.

Finally, for as much pizza as we sell via curbside and delivery, please know that this has put significant financial
pressure our company. But we are blessed that we have not been forced to close, and we will fight to stay
open as long as we can keep our teams safe and healthy.

Thanks for being in it together!

Your Malnati Leadership Team

The post A Message To Our Lou Malnati’s Family appeared first on LouMalnatis.com.

We served out 150 slices to parents and supporters of Notre Dame athletics while they watched the Packers/49ers game and entered to win raffle prizes. Special thanks to our Malnati team, Beth and Madie, for serving at the event!

On Thursday, January 23rd, Lou’s was out at Plainfield High School serving up slices at their Pizza War.

Joliet Manager Steven Haddon was glad to participate and was surprised that so many people didn’t know there was a Lou’s nearby. We ended the night winning best sauce at the competition!

On Sunday, January 26th Lou’s was up at Highland Park High School at their Pizza Bowl benefiting the District 112 educational foundation.

It was a great showcase, highlighting other pizza places as well as a variety of dessert options. We served over 200 slices to the families of the Highland Park School District. Fun fact: people told us that the Pizza Bowl used to be a competition, but Lou’s kept winning so it was changed to a showcase!

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Our annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive allows us to give back to the communities we serve and creates a great opportunity for our team to get together before the busy holiday season. We also do this year after year because…kindness rocks!

Check out this video from our basket drive!

Thank you to everyone who came to support this effort. Because of all of you, we were able to positively impact 1,650 families this holiday season. Amazing!

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If you haven’t heard yet, our Michigan Ave store is open!

A Chicago classic, located in a Chicago classic; the Wrigley Building. Eater Magazine named it as a restaurant opening to check out! We’d love to see you for lunch or dinner in our new space and don’t forget to check out our retail shop! Open for carry out, delivery, or dine-in.

Congrats to all the runners who completed the Chicago Marathon this year!

Lou’s was happy to play a small part in fueling some of the runners! On October 12^th our South Loop, West Loop, and Lawndale stores served the 1,100 members of the World Vision running team a great pasta dinner! On race day, three of our stores cranked about nearly 4,000 slices of pizza!

October is when fall is finally in full swing!

On October 17^th, Lou’s celebrated at the Grayslake Park District Pumpkin Fest! Our team dished out over 300 slices of pizza, while participants played festival games in their best Halloween costume! A few days later on the 19^th, Lou Malnati’s joined the Glenview library for Glencon 2019! We served pizza while participants celebrated all things pop culture.

Pumpkin Fest

Pumpkin Fest

Glencon 2019

It’s never too soon to start thinking about Christmas!

On the 17^th, we joined Bill and Wendy from WGN in Barrington for TreeTime, the annual tree trade-in! Lou Malnati’s handed out over 150 slices of pizza to loyal listeners.

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On Tuesday, Aug 6th Lou’s was out in full force to support our First Responders in Broadview and Schererville for National Night out.

In Broadview, over 250 slices were sampled out with large crowds gathering around the Lou’s booth.

The excitement for Lou’s in Schererville was extremely remarkable as we served out over 450 slices as part of Schererville’s National Night Out.

The organizers from the Schererville Police Department said that Lou’s booth lines were the longest they had ever seen! It was a great opportunity for us to let local residents know that we are now open and that we are proud to be a part of the Schererville community. Highlights of the event included Lou’s debuting their beautiful new pop-up tents and a helicopter landing in the middle of the park.

With the school year ramping back up, Lou’s made their way over to Stevenson High School for their annual Vendor Fair.

Lou’s was able to sample out over 500 slices of pizza to the entire Stevenson faculty. Teachers and administrative staff were super grateful to have Lou’s on hand and were looking forward to participate in our fundraiser programmers as well as ordering catering from us throughout the school year.

With summer reading programs coming to an end, Lou’s donated some pizzas to the Palos Heights Library for their summer reading celebration.

As a partner in our Summer Reading Programs, Lou’s was happy to make the donation and feed 50 members of the local library. We were told that the pizza was a “huge hit” among all and they look forward to working with us on next year’s summer reading program.

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Looking for somewhere new to travel? Or ever find yourself scrambling around for things to do when your out-of-town guests come in for a visit? Well look no further because we’ve got the perfect place for you!

The lively city of Chicago has endless activities, historic buildings, spirited sports, delicious food and so much more! Hop on a Big Bus Tour and capture the iconic sights of Chicago including places such as the John Hancock building, the Adler Planetarium and more! After site seeing, stop at Garrett Popcorn Shops for a snack to tie over your appetite. Make sure to get the Garrett Mix to bask in the full Chicago experience.

Next, head over to beautiful Millennium Park to relax or even break a sweat! Every Tuesday and Thursday, through August 31^st you can partake in a free morning work out on Millennium Park’s Great Lawn. Don’t forget to stop by “The Bean” before you leave the park! Next, take a stroll down Chicago’s Riverwalk for some unforgettable sights or jump on a boat to take a Wendella Architecture Boat Tour.

Fun fact: did you know that the Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backwards? After working up an appetite all day you will be ready to feast on some classic Chicago food. What better way to do this than stopping at one of our 11 Lou Malnati’s locations in the city!

Whether this is your first visit to Lou’s or your hundredth, we promise you will leave our restaurants with big smiles and full bellies.

The post A Day in Chicago appeared first on LouMalnatis.com.

This past Thursday, our team was out in the South Loop for the First Annual Jones College Prep Pizza Wars Fundraiser.  Lou’s was a crowd favorite as we took home 1st place for “Best Pizza,” defeating Father and Son Pizza and Pie Eyed Pizza! 

With the warm weather finally here, we also found our way outdoors this weekend at the 50th Annual Hegewisch Babe Ruth Baseball league tournament.  Lou’s sampled to over 200 participants and many who currently go to our Midway restaurant were sharing in the excitement and anticipation of our Schererville opening later this summer. 

Also, on Saturday, Lou’s was on hand at Lincolnwood Library for their Summer Reading Kickoff Party.  Due to weather, the event had to be moved indoors but Lou’s continued in the fun and handed out over 250 slices to local Lincolnwood residents! 

And finally, on Sunday, we marched their way over to Soldier Field for the Best Buddies Friendship Walk.  With over 1000 people in attendance, Lou’s was a huge hit as we sampled out over 500 slices of pizza and the lines wrapped around the entire park!  The entire Best Buddies program was super grateful for Lou’s being out there.  There was a special guest DJ appearance from local superstar Chicago DJ’s Milk N Cooks who shared how much they love our pizza!  A big thank you is in order to Peter, Philip and the rest of the South Loop  staff for helping to make this event a success! 

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