A Debate Hotter than a Faulds Oven: 'Tavern Style Pizza' and its Provenance

Article by Mark Kot, Joe Terrell, Damion Anderson and Todd Gerber Edited by Ryan Terrell

The label "Tavern Style Pizza" has brought angst for some pizza lovers, yet, others have embraced it to describe the thin crust, square, or party cut pizza widely available in the Chicagoland area. 

Where did this term originate and is it a valid term that Chicagoans can embrace? Many people are opposed to using this term, reasoning that was made up by non-Chicagoans and that our staple pizza should be referred to as "Thin Crust." 

Before talking about our findings, I must say, we were divided on this subject - half of us never used the term and the other half used it regularly. The four of us run the Facebook group "Chicago Style Pizza," which currently has almost 30,000 members. As of late, there has been much buzz and debate over this term on the Facebook page, so we decided to step in. After spending much time down this rabbit hole, we found some very surprising - and conflicting - information. 

We started this journey by searching online newspaper archives in Illinois - searching keywords such as "Tavern," "Pizza," etc. We received thousands upon thousands of hits, as you can imagine. The oldest mention of the actual term "Tavern Style Pizza" came from 1987 from a sales ad for a "Tavern Style Pizza Pub" for sale in Lemont, Illinois for $155,000. Even at this level, this finding was important because it meant the term has been around for at least 35 years, while "Tavern Pizzerias" were mentioned as far back as 75 years in our findings (see below). What is further interesting is that we didn't find many mentions at all of "Thin Crust" in older articles and ads. 

 

 

 

A few examples of the 1940's era ads we found

The earliest mention we found of "Tavern Style" from 1987

 

Next, we thought it would be prudent to reach out to some big names in local pizza circles and tap into their knowledge. We spoke with Robbie Corso, owner of Angie's Sports Bar & Pizzeria, 8352 S. Pulaski; Denny Cox, former owner of Denny's Pizza in Pecatonica and Durand, Illinois (Denny is a heavy contributor on the Chicago Style Facebook Group); Dean DePaoli, former employee of Fontanini Italian Meats & Sausages and current employee of Pastorelli Food Products, Inc.; Rose George of the legendary Vito Nicks; Steve Dolinsky, Journalist and Chicago Pizza legend; and Peter Regas, Chicago Pizza Historian.

Here is what they had to say:

Robbie Corso:

"Southside born and raised I have been making pizzas since I was a baby boy close to 50 years now. I have never heard this term until a few years back. It was always 'regular' or 'thin crust' sometimes 'extra thin' but, hell, we all have great pizzas so does it matter what we call it? Just enjoy each others' pizza and keep this community growing and supporting each other."

Denny Cox:

"Truthfully, I never heard the term 'tavern style' until after joining this group. My Italian/Sicilian side relatives are all from the Chicago area. My mom and I were both born in Melrose Park. My mom always made pizza that was cut into squares or rectangles. Whenever we visited relatives back in the 1950s and on, they would order pizza. I never saw any pizza cut into triangles. And it was just called regular or thin crust pizza. I was in business in the 1970s in the Rockford area. Our style is similar to Chicago pizza but heavier on the cheese and toppings. We had no local pizzerias calling their pizza tavern style."

Dean DePaoli:

"I first heard the term in 1991 when I started with Fontanini Italian Meats & Sausages ... Tavern style is thin crust cut in a five-row square pattern. Bars and taverns did it this way to serve more people. Every day at 4 p.m. bars would fill up with hungry factory workers - they would drink and want to eat, the more they ate the more they drank..."

Rose Barraco George:

"To the best of my recollection, the first time I heard 'tavern style' was actually from Steve Dolinsky. We always called it small cut pizza or square cut pizza - that was the terminology that was used many years ago. We’ve been making pizza for nearly 80 years and it’s only been maybe 10 years. possibly 15 years, that the term 'tavern style' pizza was heard. I understand how the name 'tavern style' pizza came about - because a lot of people ate it at the bar area in small pieces. And years ago they never had a plate, it was always eaten off of a napkin. It has only been in the last 10-15 years that plates are being used. What kills me is people who ask for a knife and a fork with a thin crust pizza - it really was meant to be eaten with your hands."

Steve Dolinsky:

"I’ve always heard this term, since I moved to Chicago in 1992. But the guy you need to ask is Peter Regas, who is the Chicago Pizza Historian of record. I’m cc’ing the Master here."

Peter Regas:

"FWIW, growing up in the Chicago suburbs I don't remember the term "tavern style" in the 1970s, 80s, or even the 90s. But then again I didn't know about 'deep-dish' pizza until the early 1980s. History - especially pizza history - teaches a certain amount of humility. Just because it didn't make the newspapers doesn't mean it wasn't used way back when in some Chicago neighborhood. But I rather doubt it...

"What does appear to be the case is that pizza started to become popular in the USA on the East coast particularly post-prohibition NYC starting in the mid-1930s. This was often associated with so-called 'Bar and Grill' taverns. This tavern idea seems to have spread to Chicago. Meo's opened up in 1935. In the late 1930s Kedzie Beer Garden was opened by the Lizio family (aka "Mama Celeste"). Family stories related to me are they (Kedzie Beer Garden) served 'pizza bread' - not tavern style - on the table for free. Soon, others came along in the early 1940s: Vitullo Village, Mama Schiavone, Paterno's, and many others. Not all were taverns, but many were. These were tavern owners (not bakers) who went into the pizza business as a side product.

"Tavern style can be hard to talk about because it's not really defined. Is a thin-crust pizza cut into squares always a tavern-style pizza? If yes that's pretty weak... Somewhat more helpful is the way the tavern-style dough ball is opened up. It's typically rolled out. Back in the day by hand with a rolling pin. Now mechanically with a sheeter machine. It has the effect of taking the gas out of the dough making the crust as flat as a pancake. You could go further and ask about the amount of fat used in the dough. Further, still, cook times are typically in the 13-17 minute range.

"Regarding the tavern cut: My hypothesis on this is what I call the proto-tavern cut that I talked about in one of my video lectures posted on YouTube and Facebook. Basically, the early tavern cuts were asymmetrical. One vertical cut then several horizontal cuts. If you see a pizza cut like this it probably has an old history (e.g., Italian Village, John's, etc.). As to why they cut it like this the best information is the pizzas were rolled out one way into ovals as opposed to circles."

To conclude, we have confirmation that the term "Tavern Style Pizza" has been around for 30+ years. The history of pizza in Chicago can be different from neighborhood to neighborhood and with the above findings and statements it's entirely feasible that the term has been used by locals since as far back as the 1940s, with hard evidence it at least dates back to 1987. Moreover, the term has been nationally recognized and used to describe thin crust and square cut pizza, including at many national pizza competitions.

For a final note, the undeniable history and use of the term is proof of its provenance and makes it a totally legitimate term for our pizza. We are not saying you have to use the term, but keep an open mind and understand that history speaks for itself. We feel the term should be embraced: "Thin Crust" is really a blanket term that can be used interchangeably throughout the nation but "Tavern Style" has been adopted by the masses and, to be perfectly honest, has a cool retro and unique vibe that Chicagoans should be proud of.

Some interesting ads we found from the mid-1940's

If you are interested in Peter Ragas' information or the YouTube videos he mentioned, check out the links below:

Pizza History Book  

Pizzeria Uno and the Mysterious Origins of Deep-Dish Pizza with Peter Regas

Thoughts on the Origins of Pizzerias in America and Chicago, Peter Regas