“We saw that we had an opportunity to move into the space next door, so we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s go for it’”, Jacobs says. “It’s been an absolute dream.” Since opening in 2001, Piece has built a strong reputation in the Windy City, and not just on its North Side, either. “We’re delivering down to the loop, too,” Jacobs says. “So we’re really pushing our deliveries. It’s really easy for us, though, because the Kennedy (Expressway) is right here. It takes us less than 15 minutes to get to the offices.”
That’s big-time volume, but it’s nothing new to Piece. The original store recorded $3.6 million in sales in 2008. “We did $4.8 (million) last year total,” Jacobs says. “The thing is, when we opened the other place, pizza sales went way up. But our sales here (in the dine-in location) went up, too. Piece Out has been good in terms of helping to increase our capacity here. We were also able to put in more cooler space, which we needed.” (Piece makes between 600 and 900 dough balls per day in its kitchen, depending on the specific day of the week.)
Of course, the beer angle can’t be overlooked, either. Far from being just a pizzeria, Piece’s dedication to the art and craft of brewing is second to none. Master Brewer Jonathan Cutler says Piece makes approximately 75 different beers, eight of which are constantly on tap. “We rotate them out,” he explains. “Throughout the year, we’ll change them out based on the season, what’s ready, etc. Depending on the beer, it’s in the fermenter from two weeks to four weeks. We’re so busy and we have so much volume that we’re always busy getting the next batch ready back here.” Piece’s beer is stored at 36 F, though Cutler says “it’s going to warm up to about 38 degrees once you get it in your hand.”
“Last year in October, on Halloween weekend, we were on a dining program called “Check, Please.” It’s a local public television show here in Chicago,” says Jacobs. “The show takes three people and asks each of them to select their favorite restaurant. Then, each one of them goes into the restaurant and reviews it. Afterwards they all do a round-table discussion. One of the people chose Piece, and we got a rave review. The place got swamped as a result. All things being relative, we were pretty busy to begin with, but we’ve been even busier after being on “Check, Please.” (You can view the segment on Piece’s Web site, www. piecechicago.com.)
The positive impact of receiving stellar reviews on “Check, Please” is still being felt. Jacobs says he monitors online reviews of Piece, which are overwhelmingly positive. When there is a complaint, it’s the kind any restaurant owner would love to have. “The biggest criticism is how busy it is in here,” he says. “As a result, people who read these things often try to come in here at a time when it’s not going to be so busy. So our lunch business really increased over time as a result of that. That’s something that, of course, we’d love to continue to see more of. You’re always happy to have a big lunch crowd, and we’ve been holding really steady at lunch and doing well.”
Jeremy White is editor-in-chief at Pizza Today.