Pizza Today - November 2021 - 59

to validate the quality of the pizza. The Art
of Pizza was rated the best deep-dish pizza
in Chicago in a 2001 Chicago's Choice
Dining Poll with The Chicago Tribune. The
shop went head-to-head against the biggest
names in deep dish pizza.
" A lady comes in and she sat down,
'I got to let you know we're running a
contest and you are Top 3 and we're going
to be announcing the winner for the best
deep-dish pizza,' " he remembers. " I said,
'wow I didn't know anything.' She said,
'how would you feel if you are No. 1? " I
said 'Humbled.' So, I'm in my basement
at 11 pm and I'm on their thing with The
Chicago Tribune and here they go. And I
just started screaming when I saw No. 1. I
got goosebumps. Business went crazy. "
The rating even had other Chicago
deep-dish legends lining up to try The
Art of Pizza. Shabez says, it was rough
for several years trying to keep up with
demand, but he leaned on his experienced
team, and they continued to produce the
consistent pizza.
With word-of-mouth momentum
that money can't buy and an expanded
location, Shabez set his sights on a
new location. At 3 a.m. he found the
perfect spot, a shuttered pizzeria for
sale in downtown on State Street with
three neighboring colleges and nearby
Michigan Avenue. He texted his realtor
and was in the pizzeria the next morning.
The State Street location opened in 2017.
To this day, he says, buying State Street
was one of the best decisions he's made in
business. " Two years later, I sold it to two
employees from here (Ashland location)
who I took over there, " he says.
This isn't the first time
employees have taken ownership
of his pizzeria. An ambitious young
employee at the first pizzeria he
co-owned eventually bought the owner out.
Shabez shares how to become an owner
with his employees. " I show them, " he
says. " 'Look what you are making. Look
how you work for it. If you put that over
here as an owner, you are the owner.
So not only are you getting salary from
working, you're also getting the owner's
share.' " Shabez had hoped that at his
Ashland Ave. location, he could pass
down the reigns. But's a bit more complex
with Lakeview real estate.
The Art of Pizza's loyal team is
dedicated to its success. Shabez shared
that some of his employees have been
with him for 30 years. " Oscar's off today
30 years, Jasper's off today, 30 years, "
he says " All these other guys have 16
years, 10 years. Everybody gets a good
Christmas bonus, two weeks paid
vacation after a year. They get $100 to
come in on New Year's and I give them
$50 on their birthday. That's how I keep
them. I have a family at home. I have
a family here. You see your family here
more than you see your kids. "
Even with a track record for treating
employees well, Shabez says that finding
employees now is the toughest it's ever
been and he's not sure how to recruit new
employees. " I have an ad in the paper, " he
says. " I have an ad on the Tribune website,
'experienced pizza makers, 40 hours plus
10 hours overtime, $60,000,' no one. It's
scary. We had 27 employees including
drivers two years ago. We are down to 20.
We are bare boned now. " But Shabez is
committed to maintaining his open hours
for The Art of Pizza customers. " My
brother once told me, 'If you give your
customers an opportunity to try another
pizza place, they just might like it better.'
Costs of goods is another current
hurdle Shabez is facing. " No. 2 really is
price fluctuation on food, " he says. " I don't
like raising my prices. People know that. I
can't stand it, but I had to. "
Like many operators, Shabez is
analyzing what to do on both fronts.
Unfortunately, he says, " Hiring and the
food costs, I have no answer. "
The labor strain and cost of
goods isn't slowing down business
as Shabez says 2021 is shaping up
to be a record-breaking sales year.
And that's coming off of the restaurant
industry crushing 2020.
But The Art of Pizza performed well
during the COVID-19 pandemic. " When
COVID hit last year, for four months,
it was 'buy two slices, get one free' and
I didn't have to do that, " he says. " We
were busy. We did very well but I give.
And I didn't advertise. There was a sign
inside. " Even with the circumstances and
discounting, Shabez says, sales were up
three to five percent in 2020.
He believes the delivery and carryout
emphasis will continue for some time.
The Art of Pizza is 10 percent dine-in,
55 percent carryout, and delivery is the
remainder. Carryout includes sales from
one third-party delivery service. He used
to partner with several others but as he
had issues with the drivers or service, he
cancelled them.
The menu is 99 percent the same
as it was years ago, Shabez says.
" We've added a few items over the years,
but everything is the same, " he adds. " I
keep asking my cooks 'what's not selling?'
Everything is selling so if it wasn't, I'd
take it off. " The pizza and dough formula?
" Nothing's changed - same sauce, same
dough, " he says.
Slices are a much larger percentage
than whole pies. Shabez keeps the pizza
menu classic with cheese, meaty, spinach
and mushrooms, vegetarian, southwestern
and Hawaiian options. The Art of Pizza
also features a menu of appetizers, salads
and sandwiches. It highlights the Chicago
staple Italian Beef, as well as chicken
Parmesan sandwich and a ribeye steak
sandwich. Shabez rotates daily lunch and
dinner specials on a large, bright digital
sign with high visibility to street and
pedestrian traffic.
Currently, those are the only
promotions. " Over the years, we did
radio, direct mail, commercials, " he says.
" I believe the best is door-to-door flyers
because they get them right there and
they can read them or throw them out. I
do have a college kid who does Facebook
and Instagram. "
" When I opened, I was doing
10 percent a year in advertising, " he says.
" During COVID, I didn't advertise at
all. " Shabez says, sharing that his store's
output is maxed out so advertising now
would cause longer wait times, especially
with delivery.
Shabez is a hands-on operator,
anywhere from two to eight hours a day.
When he does get a chance to get away,
he says, " I like to go just sit in a restaurant
and clear my head. Seriously, I love it. " n
DENISE GREER is Executive Editor at
Pizza Today.
NOVEMBER 2021 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 59
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - November 2021

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