DOWNTOWN — Homemade Pizza Co., with locations across the city, has reportedly shuts its stores.
A company executive confirmed to Crain's Chicago Business that the chain has shuttered. No reason was given.
Started in 1997 by Eric Fosse and Eric Weinstein, the company's investors included Matthew Pritzker of the Pritzker fortune. The chain had, at one time, restaurants in Lincoln Square, Andersonville, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Hyde Park, Wicker Park and the Near North Side among others in the Chicago area.
In Hyde Park, "The University/Lake Park Associates received no heads up from Homemade Pizza Co. — just a sign on the door Friday," said Calmetta Coleman, a spokeswoman for the University of Chicago, which is the landlord for the pizza location at 1546 E. 55th St in the Hyde Park Shopping Center.
The Lincoln Square shop, at 4603 N. Lincoln Ave., opened in September 2010 in the former Jack Rabbit location.
At one point, the company had locations in Minnesota, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey and was featured in an Oprah Winfrey "Best Pizza in America" TV special. It was touted for its all-natural ingredients.
The company sold prepared pizzas that consumers finished by heating at home.
The pizza chain's website and Facebook page have been removed.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
