BOYSTOWN — Out with the chop suey, in with the slices.
Breaking from 20 years of serving Chinese food at 3343 N. Halsted St., Venicci Pizza opened two weeks ago, after a successful test run during Northalsted Market Days.
The Italian restaurant serves up pasta, salad and casual Italian dishes in the middle of one of Boystown's liveliest blocks.
It replaces Chop Chop Chinaman, a controversial and short-lived restaurant known largely for its name that one woman described as "aggressively racist." That woman even scrawled a message in lipstick on the restaurant's front window.
But few who have visited Venicci Pizza have mentioned its immediate predecessor, which lasted just four months before closing.
"Everybody who comes in refers to Mark's Chop Suey," which predated the beleaguered Chinese restaurant, said Zach Honquest, general manager of Venicci Pizza.
Opened by the Mark family in 1976, Mark's Chop Suey was beloved in Boystown for 38 years before its owners decided to retire in February 2014. The space remained vacant until Chop Chop Chinaman opened in October that year.
EARLIER: Mark's Chop Suey Closing After 38 Years
For Venicci, it took about three months and about $50,000 to remodel the 1,847-square-foot interior. Exposed brick, vivid blue backlighting and olive accents provide a fresh, contemporary look.
An extensive remodel inside Venicci Pizza shows a transformed restaurant in what used to be Mark's Chop Suey. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
On the restaurant's south end, a full bar and carryout window add new elements to the space.
"We're getting a lot of foot traffic, but the main thing is getting the word out that we're actually open," Honquest said. "And I know people see the sign and think it's just slices (of pizza), but we have a full Italian menu."
The extra-large pizza slices — each one-sixth of an 18-inch pizza — are $4 for cheese and $5 for sausage or pepperoni. Whole specialty pizzas come in three sizes and include options like the Venicci Classic with prosciutto, fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil and red sauce.
Along with lasagna and penne, Venicci features a macaroni-and cheese dish with fondue cheese sauce and cavatappi pasta for $12. Entrees like chicken parmigiana, chicken Vesuvio and a meatball sandwich range from $11 to $15.
The Caprese salad ($11) and jumbo mozzarella sticks ($9) have been popular choices in the two weeks since Venicci opened, Honquest said.
The restaurant features a wine menu Honquest selected himself, along with a full bar open until midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The kitchen closes an hour earlier.
Venicci Pizza is owned by Alex Stoykov and Jim Jensen in partnership with Rob Brumbaugh.
RELATED: Boystown Going mEAT-less As Minibar Owner Plans Next-Door Expansion
In March, Brumbaugh — who also owns Progress Bar — beefed up his Boystown footprint with the purchase of Minibar and mEAT at 3341 and 3339 N. Halsted St.
mEAT closed and will become an expansion of Minibar's ultra lounge and cafe.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
