Today we’d like to introduce you to Dennis Clarkson.
Dennis, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My wife, Franny and I bought Gigio’s 3 1/2 years ago. Before Gigio’s we had a full-service restaurant on Beaver Island, Michigan. We sold that business and moved back to Evanston, We started a candle factory in 1997 and sold that in 2010 and decided to bake bread and sell at farmers markets until we purchased Gigio’s.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road couldn’t be smoother. We bought a turnkey business meaning that it runs on its own. The previous owner Julio did a magnificent job of training and organizing our employees. Gigio’s first opened in Evanston in 1968 making us 50 years old. We are the oldest pizzeria in Evanston.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Gigio’s Pizzeria – what should we know?
Gigio’s was started in 1968 by three friends from Sicily. Gigio’s was named after the Italian puppet Topo Gigio on the Ed Sullivan Show. We started out as a pickup & delivery only pizzeria. We expanded adding tables and chairs in 1975.
At first, we made only pizzas and salads than sandwiches and soup. Then one day a customer noticed that our employees were making tacos for their lunch and asked if we would put them on our menu, so we did. We obviously specialize in pizza and we are known for New York style.
Our crust is thin and our sauce is a little sweeter than others. Today we’re also known for our homemade soups, Italian beef, burgers, tacos & burritos.
I think we are most proud of giving back to the community, We have given more than $15,000 to various non-profits and school PTA’S in the last three years. We make everything in-house from our soups to our pizza sausage. We use organic tomatoes from Italy in our pizza sauce and we sell pizza by the slice.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Our employees deserve credit for our success. One of our employees has been with Gigio’s for 24 years two others for 13 years. another for 12 and still another for 11 years. The customers know them by their names and vice versa. They are friendly, courteous and efficient and our customers appreciate them.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1001 Davis St. Evanston, IL 60201
- Website: www.gigiospizzaev.com
- Phone: 8473280990
- Email: info@gigiospizzev.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gigiospizzeria
- Facebook: facebook.com/gigiospizzeria
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