Business:Little Italian Pizza
Address: 373 E. Bailey Road, Naperville
Phone/website: 630-983-8200, www.littleitalianpizza.com
Owner:Patrick Broich, 37, of Oswego
Years in business:50
What does your business do?“We make pizza for the community,” Broich said.
How long have you owned the restaurant?“(I) took over Nov. 1 of last year. … I got a worker’s permit at 15, learned how to roll dough, wash dishes. About 10 years later, that owner decided to sell and move to Florida. I had just graduated from Aurora University with my elementary education degree. The new owner didn’t realize I didn’t come with the sale and was a little shocked by that. … He kept sweetening the pot. … He was ready to retire (last year). I had 5% of the ownership. So, I bought it.”
Why?“It was a great opportunity. The staff and customers are incredible. … It’s always been a fun job.”
What have you learned?“You never have enough time off as you think you will. It’s all about balance. I have two little kids. They’re my world. Aria is 4. Lily will be 3 in September.”
What’s it like working here?“Hectic. Fast paced. What’s great is we’re surrounded with people we enjoy working with. The craziness is the new normal here.”
When are you busiest? “We’ll do 25% of our week on Fridays. … 700 to 1,000 pizzas. … Saturday is a close second.”
How many people work here? “32. We have people from 16 to 60. Bartending. Service. One driver has been here longer than I have. It’s a good group of people.”
Is this an art?“We can train anybody to make a good pizza.”
Do you throw dough into the air?“We don’t do that. We have a dough sheeter. It’s almost a steam roller for dough. You feed it through, it flattens it out. You set the thickness. … You cut it out using cardboard circles. It’s an assembly line. It’s all about consistency, speed and efficiency.
Is sauce the key to a good pizza? “Absolutely. It’s the spices that go into it. You don’t want a bland sauce. You don’t want an overly sweet sauce. You want to find that happy medium. For the 23 years I’ve been here, I’ve been making the dough, the sauce, the cheese all the same since day one. Those original recipes have never changed. … I don’t want to mess up a good thing.
“One of the keys to the success of this place is every day in the morning we are here making dough, sauce and cheese fresh. … Nothing is frozen. … We know our product stands on its own and if people try it, they’re going to come back.”
How has this business survived 50 years?“A lot of people have grown up eating our pizza. I’ve seen generations come through here. … Most of our customers are regulars, whether it is once a week, couple times a month, once a month. I know most of our customers by name and so does our counter staff.”
How are you celebrating?“On June 22 from 1 to 5 p.m. we’ll have our 50th anniversary in the parking lot. It should be a really good time. We’re having live music by a band called Forget Hannah. We have an outdoor permit to sell alcohol. We’re giving away free pizza. … We’ll have face painting for the kids, lawn games, raffle baskets with donations from local businesses. All the proceeds from the raffle tickets goes to Little Friends. Donations can be dropped off for DuPage PADS. Clothes, canned goods for the less fortunate.”
What’s a popular topping?“Pepperoni is one of our most-sold toppings. We’ll go through 250 pounds of sausage in a week just on pizzas.”
What’s on your pizza?“I keep it simple. Thin crust and sausage. Nothing else. I want to taste the sauce and the cheese blend. … I can’t do mushrooms or black olives.”
Who is your chef? “Mario Agripino has been here as long as I have. … He’s got this amazing repertoire. We have a full Italian menu here.”
How did the pandemic impact your business? “When we had to shut down the bar and dining room, we lost about 30% of our revenue. We picked up on the carryout side. … We got through it. … The bar is back to normal. (Regulars) refer to it as their ‘Cheers.’”
Any favorite stories?“Since I’ve been here, there have been five or six marriages (between employees). My wife Sara and I met here in 2010, got married in 2015. … Love at first sight.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business?“Be prepared for the grind. Nothing is going to be handed to you. … You have to be willing to fail in order to allow yourself to succeed.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
