Gigio’s Pizzeria has been serving the community for more than 50 years, making it the oldest pizza place in Evanston. First opened in 1968 as a pickup and delivery operation, the original owners later expanded to accommodate sit down dining several years later. Bringing their culinary knowledge all the way from Italy and later New York City, Gigio’s specializes in New York style thin crust pizza.
Yet our menu options go beyond pizza, as we offer everything from burgers, hot dogs, Italian beef and sausages, to amazing tacos, burritos, salads and homemade soups. Everything is made from scratch on site to ensure the quality of our food. Whether it’s our famous pizza sausage recipe, where we remove the meat from the bone ourselves so we can have complete control over the amount of fat used, to our pizza dough made fresh each morning. We make about 1,500 lbs. of dough each and every week, letting each batch sit in our spacious walk in cooler overnight to develop the undeniable flavor in our crust that has kept our customers coming back for decades. Perhaps our best kept secret is our pizza sauce that coupled with our whole milk cheese creates a taste sensation that only real pizza lovers can appreciate. Even small touches such as sautéing our mushrooms in butter and seasonings before putting them in our pizza puts us above our competition in attention to detail. Over the years, we’ve used the feedback of our customers to expand our menu offerings. Items, like our tacos and burritos were introduced after our regular customers saw our kitchen staff making them for themselves and we decided a little touch of south of the border in our menu would be a welcoming addition. In August of 2014, Dennis and Franny Clarkson became the new owners of Gigio’s Pizzeria. Bringing with them years of experience in the restaurant industry, they made the conscious decision to retain the same staff that has been serving quality food to Evanston residents for years. With innovation in mind, they have further expanded the menu with popular new items like our Cemita Poblana sandwich and made life easier for our customers by introducing online ordering. They also implemented a much needed facelift to the Gigio’s interior including a beautiful new menu board, brand new LED lighting fixtures and expanded seating with a granite counter top. Gigio’s also began to serve beer under the new ownership with offerings from two of Evanston’s top craft breweries, Temperance and Sketchbook. Whether you’ve been coming to Gigio’s Pizzeria for years, or are stopping in for the first time, you’ll feel right at home each and every time you come in. Customer satisfaction is our top priority, as it is our customers that have allowed us to remain a staple in the Evanston community for so many years.
