Antioch Pizza Eyes Northbrook As Part Of Its Expansion Plans

NORTHBROOK, IL – Art and Karen Wicklein have been in the pizza business long enough to know that entering a new area where residents have already established their go-to pizza source can be a difficult proposition.

But as the owners of Antioch Pizza — a decades-old chain of pizzerias that is built around a recipe borne on Chicago’s South Side in the 1950s — the couple with roots in Antioch that purchased the company in 2008, are up for the challenge of inviting residents to add a new slice to their pizza repertoire.

The Wickleins are in the midst of expanding Antioch Pizza, which currently has seven locations, but has three more in the works. The pizzeria, which offers everything from pub-style thin crust to stuffed pizza to deep dish along with other offerings, is looking to introduce their style of pie to Northbrook although there is currently no timeline for the shop to open in the village, Art Wicklein said.

The company, which was started in 1977, is looking to add more Cook County locations as it grows, Wicklein told Patch on Monday. The expansion takes place at a time when many restaurants have struggled to survive during the coronavirus pandemic — a fact the couple remains sensitive to as they grown their business. But because Antioch Pizza has always been more about pick-up than it has been about dine-in service and delivery, adding more locations as the country moves closer to normalcy only makes sense. That includes eventually moving into Northbrook if the couple can find the right fit.

The couple has a goal of growing to more than 30 locations within the next five years after focusing much of its attention at locations around the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

While the company’s foundation is quality food and pizza, Art Wicklein said that he wants Antioch Pizza to have a strong connection to the communities it serves. Whether that means dishing up donating pizza at high school football games or other community events or becoming a committed member of the local business community, Wicklein is a strong believer that his locations will establish itself as a good neighbor.

And if that means trying to convince local pizza aficionados to try something new, so be it. And like any business owner worth his sauce and proprietary homemade sausage, Wicklein is willing to put his pizza up against any one of the main players in Chicagoland’s vast pizza landscape. But confidence aside, he is willing to do what it takes to attract new customers.

“To be honest, we give away a ton of free food,” Wicklein said in a phone interview. “My general motto is that if we can get people to try it, I can get them to come back.”

“The (Antioch Pizza) brand has been around for 43 years and there’s no reason why it can’t be around for another 43 years. In the next generation, I want to be the local place everybody goes to.”

Karen Wicklein said that the company’s track record of producing quality pizza, sandwiches, wings, and other offerings – as well as offering top-shelf customer service – has allowed Antioch Pizza to remain “recession-proof”.

Now, coming out of a year filled with struggles across the restaurant industry, Antioch Pizza is continuing to grow, bringing its double-decker pizza and other unique offerings to new places – no matter what the competition looks like. A commitment to its customer base goes a long way, Wicklein said, starting with the fact that he always wants diners to feel like they have gotten their money’s worth out of the experience.

Art Wicklein has former work and community ties to Northbrook, which he has long believed would make the village a perfect candidate for one of his stories. And like the rest of the locations where Antioch Pizza is already in existence, Wicklein is committed to providing the same level of service to residents if and when Northbrook is added to the roster of the couple’s pizza offerings.

“We don’t ever want (customers) to think, ‘Antioch Pizza got one up on me,’” he said.