The first Pizzeria Uno opened at the intersection of Ohio and Wabash in downtown Chicago in 1943. The Chicago Bears were having a good season at Wrigley Field, and nobody had ever heard of deep dish pizza. Changing that was the job of Uno owner Ike Sewelll, who had invented a pizza you could truly call a pie without immediately being fined by the U.S. Board of Pastries. He built a tall-edged crust laced with lots of butter, the filled it with cheese, Italian spices, and fresh tomatoes, baking the whole thing for an hour. It would become Pizzeria Uno's signature recipe.

Today, Uno Pizzeria & Grill spans about half of the U.S. and sends the aroma of bubbling cheese wafting through several international cities as well. At each location, cooks show up early every morning to begin making dough, creating specialty pies using ingredients that Ike could have only dreamed of, such as Canadian bacon and fiber-optic broccoli. Lighter, quicker entrees are available too, including Italian favorites such as shrimp scampi and gluten-free steak and burger options.