Ian's Pizza, Madison's own original late night pizza place, will be expanding its tasty business to Wrigleyville in Chicago in early June.
Ian's Pizza currently has two locations in downtown Madison, on 115 State St. and 319 N. Frances St. This summer, Ian's will be opening a new restaurant and bringing its unique pizza options, including favorites such as the Mac 'n Cheese and the Tomato Pesto to the Windy City.
Chicago proved to be the best option for the newest shop.
One of the most important things was opening a location that was close enough to Madison,"" Jaime Gamez, one of the new Chicago location's two general managers said. ""In the process of opening and expanding you want to make sure that Ian's [is] able to maintain quality control, good customer service, good training for employees.""
Gamez and Dimitri Syrikin-Nikolau were named general managers because of their dedication to Ian's. Gamez said the Chicago location will be run by current Ian's employees.
""We're not franchising."" Gamez said. ""That's one thing - besides the fact we sell Mac 'n Cheese pizza - that makes us really neat.""
""We want to give employees a chance to become owners who worked their way up,"" Staci Fritz said, office manager of Ian's Pizza's Central Office.
""They know their stuff and they're down with the Ian's vision,"" Fritz said, one of the two Chicago store general managers.
The ""Ian's vision"" started after the store creator Ian Gurfield graduated from Amerherst University in Massachusetts, according to Fritz. After graduation, 24-year-old Gurfield went on an extended road trip for 18 months with an idea in his head.
He wanted a late night pizza place that served not just your usual pizza, but something a little bit unusual. Gurfield knew he wanted the restaurant to be in a college town and attract the late night bar crowd.
When he got to Madison, Gurfield instantly liked the downtown location because of the proximity to UW-Madison and the large population. Gurfield received financial resources and opened up the first Ian's in Madison on Oct. 31, 2001.
Ian's Pizza now has over six years of extreme success in the downtown area. The new restaurant is expected to succeed in Wrigleyville because of similar qualities Gurfield first sensed in Madison.
Gamez said there is a lot of nightlife and walking traffic in the area. The new location is also near a UW-Madison alumni bar, which Gamez hopes will bring in loyal Badgers.
The new restaurant is also expected to be popular with those who have eaten at the State Street or Frances Street locations while in Madison for sporting events or other college activities.
""A lot of people have visited, basically from the Big Ten. I know I see people come through from out of town and they love it,"" Gamez said.
""It's not just Madison moving to Chicago, but the Big Ten moving to Chicago. It's something that will be explosive, at least among alumni from the Big Ten.""
In Chicago, home to deep dish pizza, other pizza places don't feel threatened by Ian's and welcome new businesses to the area.
""I think businesses that are established [in Wrigleyville] are pretty well set and they'll be just fine,"" Jay Miller, supervisor at Pizza-Ria said, another pizza place near Ian's new location.
Aside from alumni connections, the new managers feel quality food and good service will help their product succeed in the Windy City.
""I think we have a strong, confident idea that people are going to like Ian's in Chicago,"" said Gamez.
