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Aurelio's Pizza's Triumphant Return to Chicago Delayed by Construction

By Mark Konkol | September 2, 2014 5:26am
 Aurelio's is known for its thin crust and sweet sauce.
Aurelio's is known for its thin crust and sweet sauce.
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SOUTH LOOP — There was this rumbling in my belly, and I remembered: Aurelio’s Pizza should be open in the South Loop by now.

I headed to Michigan and Roosevelt to satisfy my craving for the trademarked sweet sauce covered in salty mozzarella, tangy homemade sausage and peppers piled on a lightly charred thin crust cut into squares just the way I like it, only to find out the pizza place of my suburban youth wasn’t there.

In the spring, Aurelio’s owner Joe Aurelio told me his family pizza joint would make a triumphant return to Chicago by the end of August, and I told you to stop by and “tell 'em Mark sent you.”

I reached out to Aurelio to find out why I had to head to Little Italy for dinner when all I wanted was one of his thin-crust pies.

“Delay after delay … between the landlords and the city,” he wrote. “All the delays are unavoidable.”

 In 1959, Joe Aurelio Jr. opened a small restaurant on Ridge Road in south suburban Homewood.
In 1959, Joe Aurelio Jr. opened a small restaurant on Ridge Road in south suburban Homewood.
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Construction on Roosevelt that included tearing up the sidewalk stalled work on the building’s exterior and, well, all that matters is the work isn’t done yet.

“Oh, well,” Aurelio wrote. “Looks like January.”

So if you need something to look forward to in January — and don’t we all? — at least we can look forward to a trip to Aurelio’s.

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