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On March 17th, 1971, Lou Malnati and his wife Jean opened the first Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria in Lincolnwood. Today, 45 years later, we’re celebrating the great history of our restaurant!

In honor of our anniversary, we’ve compiled a complete history of Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria by decade, from opening day 45 years ago, all the way to present day! You may think you know all there is to know about us, but we’ve included quite a few new tidbits. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:

• 1970s – bet you didn’t know a car crashed through the wall of the main dining room on opening day… Read more ›
• 1980s – The Taste of Chicago started in 1980, and we’ve been a part of it since the very start! Read more ›
• 1990s – We have a long history of giving back to our community, and we opened a pizzeria in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood in 1995 with just that goal. Read more ›
• 2000s – Ever heard of “Pizzas4Patriots”? In 2009, our Tastes of Chicago division donated thousands of deep dish pizzas to the cause. Read more ›
• Present Day – you might already know this one, but… Lou Malnati’s is headed to Arizona! Read more ›

Have we piqued your interest? Check out the full history of Lou’s here.

Ring in the New Year with the whole family at Lou Malnati’s!

Enjoy the excitement of the holiday at your local participating Lou’s with our famous deep dish pizza, family-friendly entertainment, and good company, all without delaying bed times. Continue Reading ›

For the past five years, employees, friends, and families from Lou Malnati’s and Soul City Church have gathered to assemble Thanksgiving food baskets for local families in need. It’s an event for the whole family with all hands on deck, where the kids create hand-drawn cards to include in the baskets, and children and adults work together in an assembly line to fill the baskets.

Check out our video from last year’s event to see what it’s all about!

This year, we’re continuing this Thanksgiving tradition, and our hope is to fill 1,500 food baskets!

Baskets will be distributed to families in need through Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Lawndale Community Church, River City Community Church, and By the Hand Club for Kids.

How can you lend a helping hand?

Mention the Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive when placing your order now through November 20th, and Lou Malnati’s will donate $2 to the Thanksgiving Basket Fund.*

*May not be combined with any other promotions/discounts, including orders for Giveback Fundraisers. Email or blog must be mentioned or shown at time of purchase. Lou Malnati’s will donate $2 from every order now through November 20, 2015 up to $30,000.

Please contact us, or leave a comment with any questions about our Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive!

Thanks to the support of our generous sponsors and attendees, the 45th Annual Lou Malnati’s Cancer Research Benefit was a roaring success with upwards of $250,000 raised!

Money raised at the successful event will be donated to cancer research and treatment programs at the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, Lurie Children’s Hospital, and Gilda’s Club. We are proud to continue to support the efforts of these programs.

Continue Reading ›

Join us on Wednesday, July 29th for the Gold Coast Grub Crawl!

We’re partnering with Carmine’s, Gibson’s Bar & Steakhouse, Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House, Lux Bar, and Tavern on Rush to bring you a big night of small bites and trend-setting drinks in the city’s most delicious neighborhood – Gold Coast! Attendees will spend 30 minutes at each participating location, enjoying a signature cocktail and dish. The best part? All proceeds benefit the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

We hope you will join us for a fun-filled evening of food and drinks, all in the name of brain tumor research!

View food and drink menus ›

Purchase tickets ›

This past weekend, there was a flurry of activity at the Chicagoland Speedway and our Joliet pizzeria was happy to get in on the action!

With the help of many volunteers, we set up shop in the middle of the track and served up over 1,800 slices of our famous deep dish as part of the Season Ticket Holder Trackside Party.

We also fed the deserving group behind #TheLittleTeamThatCan, including driver Josh Williams who races each race in honor of Anya Cale who is battling leukemia.

We are proud to support this team as they raise awareness for pediatric cancer and we’re also proud to join them in the fight through the Lou Malnati’s Cancer Research Fund.  If you would like to join us in the fight against pediatric cancer, you can donate to the 45th Annual Lou Malnati’s Cancer Research Benefit at www.lmcb.org.