60 Years of Chicago Deep Dish
Since 1966, one pie at a time. Thank you, Chicago.
On CBS News Chicago
We’re celebrating our 60th anniversary on CBS News Chicago on Friday morning, October 23, 2026. We’ll post the segment here after it airs.
Six Decades, One Recipe
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1966
Two cab drivers and a friend
Driving up and down the Magnificent Mile, taxi drivers Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli figured a pizza spot just off that busy stretch would be a sound bet. With their friend George Loverde, they opened Gino’s East.
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29 years
Alice Mae Redmond’s crust
The owners hired Alice Mae Redmond, who spent the next 29 years making the pizzas that made Gino’s East famous. She stretched the dough into the pan by hand instead of slapping it around, and her secret dough conditioner still gives our crust its texture and taste.
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Every day
Walls that talk back
Guests started signing the walls, and never stopped. Decades of signatures, doodles and declarations of love cover our dining rooms. Add yours: the graffiti is part of the meal.
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2019
First to offer vegan cheese
Gino’s East became the first major Chicago deep dish restaurant to offer vegan cheese on deep dish and thin crust.
Today every pie is still built the same way: Chicago deep dish made with dough mixed from scratch every day, family-grown California tomatoes, Wisconsin cheese and sausage made in Chicago. Read the full Gino’s East story.
Celebrate 60 With Us
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Magnificent Mile
Our flagship at 162 E Superior St, just off the Mag Mile. Three floors of graffiti-tagged walls and a third-floor terrace.
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South Loop
Deep dish at 521 South Dearborn St, in Printers Row near Grant Park.
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Ship a Pie
Send Gino’s East deep dish anywhere in the U.S. with Goldbelly, or pick some up at your local grocery store.
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Give the Gift
A Gino’s East gift card is a Chicago deep dish night out, 60 years in the making.
See all Gino’s East locations, including Wheaton and Los Angeles.