i've had the pizza at aurelio's in lagrange a few times. it's not bad at all. the service i've received is somewhat inadequate but the food is decent. these complaints and comparisons to pizza hut are ridiculous. also, i am in now way affiliated with aurelio's

dicksond wrote:The only Aurelio's I have sampled in the last ten years is the Naperville location Ron mentions, so I will refrain from commenting on very old (but generally positive) experiences elsewhere. Including a place in LaGrange (on 55th just east of LaGrange Road on the south side of the street - is that the same place as this new location?) which if my memory serves me at all well was an Aurelio's 20 years ago, too, but I cannot swear that is correct.

The new location is in downtown Lagrange. It's on Calendar court. A bit off the corner of La Grange and Calendar.

jimswside wrote:

BP wrote:I'm glad that you had good pizzas there, Erzsi. Hopefully, they have resolved the cooking issues, although it's apparent that their customer service issues still exist, since we have yet to hear from them about how they plan to resolve this situation with us.

I have been following this thread, I am curious what exactly do you want from them & how do you want them to "resolve this situation" as you put it. You didnt like this locations pizza, these things happen. I say cut your losses, quit wasting your time/energy and move on.

The issues that we have, aren't with Aurelio's Pizza, in general. The issues are with the problems at the LaGrange location. I realize that I could just go to another location or to stop going to Aurelio's altogether, however, the issue could just be as simply resolved by the owner of the LaGrange location, contacting us, in order to apologize and to tell us that they are making an effort to improve, inviting us back there.

BP wrote:

jimswside wrote:

BP wrote:I'm glad that you had good pizzas there, Erzsi. Hopefully, they have resolved the cooking issues, although it's apparent that their customer service issues still exist, since we have yet to hear from them about how they plan to resolve this situation with us.

I have been following this thread, I am curious what exactly do you want from them & how do you want them to "resolve this situation" as you put it. You didnt like this locations pizza, these things happen. I say cut your losses, quit wasting your time/energy and move on.

The issues that we have, aren't with Aurelio's Pizza, in general. The issues are with the problems at the LaGrange location. I realize that I could just go to another location or to stop going to Aurelio's altogether, however, the issue could just be as simply resolved by the owner of the LaGrange location, contacting us, in order to apologize and to tell us that they are making an effort to improve, inviting us back there.

good luck.

Just a note on the crispyness of the crust...If you go to the original Aurelio's in Homewood, you may have received pizza baked in the 'old oven' which does a great job at crisping up the crust. You are able to request that oven to ensure the cripsyness. However, I have learned that when I order pizza from any of the franchise locations, I make sure to ask for it 'crispy'. I don't know much about converyor ovens etc. I do know that if you ask for it cripsy, the La Grange location makes a pretty good replica of the original. Besides, there really isn't too many other options in the area to compare!!

dccpmd wrote:Just a note on the crispyness of the crust...If you go to the original Aurelio's in Homewood, you may have received pizza baked in the 'old oven' which does a great job at crisping up the crust. You are able to request that oven to ensure the cripsyness. However, I have learned that when I order pizza from any of the franchise locations, I make sure to ask for it 'crispy'. I don't know much about converyor ovens etc. I do know that if you ask for it cripsy, the La Grange location makes a pretty good replica of the original. Besides, there really isn't too many other options in the area to compare!!

I agree with you about Homewood. It is very good, which likely is due to the old oven. However, the LaGrange location only once made the pizza correct for me, which was when the owner's son made the pizza. The other times were a mess. If the LaGrange location has corrected its issues, then Aurelio's Corporate or the LaGrange franchiser ought to contact my mother to let us know that we could try there again, without us being told by them that they have been around the planet, etc.

I forgot to mention about my experiences at the Home Run Inn in Darien years ago. One of the managers there, is really nice. He let me make my own pizzas, which always turned out to be very good, obviously, because I made them. However, the pizzas which I made at Home Run Inn, only got to a decent crispyness, which while is better than Aurelio's in LaGrange's crispiness, it wasn't as crispy as at either the Homewood Aurelio's or at Joe's Italian Villa. Home Run Inn used a conveyor oven, which I suspect is why the pizza never got to the exact crispiness that I like. Although, I understand how a conveyor oven "simplifies" the work for pizza chefs, whereas, pizza cooked in a deck oven, needs more attention. That is something very admirable about the great staff at Joe's Italian Villa. They consistently check and recheck the pizzas in the deck ovens, making sure that the pizzas are cooked perfectly. The only issue which I have with the pizza, is the spicyness of the pizza sauce. I like the pizza sauce there, however, it sometimes tends to cause the roof of my mouth to burn a bit, which is annoying. Otherwise, both Home Run Inn, Joe's Italian Villa, and Aurelio's ( Homewood location ), are very good.

BP wrote:I forgot to mention about my experiences at the Home Run Inn in Darien years ago. One of the managers there, is really nice. He let me make my own pizzas, which always turned out to be very good, obviously, because I made them.

Not to belabor this thread, but I find it odd that any pizzeria would allow a customer to go in the back and prepare his or her own pizza, or that any reasonable customer would have this expectation when dining out. No offense intended, BP, but based on some of your comments I can understand how a proprietor might view you as a "difficult" customer (or, at a minimum, a customer with very high expectations). Not to say that a restaurant shouldn't strive to make you a satisfied customer, but this business about cooking your own pizza in a pizzeria's kitchen seems a little strange.

this whole thread, and the op's expectations regarding an apology/etc. from Aurelios are a little over the top, and demanding in my humble opinion.

no offense.

I don't think that it's wrong to have high expectations when dining out, nor do I think that it's wrong to expect your complaints to be resolved but I also think that everyone needs to have reasonable expectations on how to resolve things.

I'm sorry that you had a very poor dining experience and it's never been resolved to your satisfaction. I really wonder though, what sort of realistic resolution could be made at this point?

The place could apologize to me and they could tell me that they will try again. It isn't demanding, it isn't difficult, it's pizza. If they can't do such simple things, then they are bad management.

BP wrote:The place could apologize to me and they could tell me that they will try again. It isn't demanding, it isn't difficult, it's pizza. If they can't do such simple things, then they are bad management.

Gotta chime in here....they did try again. & again, & again, & again. You said in a previous post that they brought you several pizzas that you refused. So it sounds like you just don't like their pizza, which is fine, but to continue to rant & rave about it on a message board & also demand an apology is a little over the top. If you don't like their pizza, go ahead & post your opinion about it on your message board & then move on. Go get your pizza somewhere else & leave them alone, for chrissakes! They don't owe you an explanation as to why they aren't making pizzas to YOUR specific qualifications. It's still their business, & their pizzas. & no offense to you, as another poster said, but you do sound like the classic disgruntled customer with internet access. Reading your posts, you seem to have the same history with several different establishments....you go there a few times, you love it & post over & over about how much you love it, then something happens to piss you off & then you make it your life's mission to smear their name on the internet (Smokin M's, Soul....) Again, no offense, but it sounds like you've got a major chip on your shoulder & you're using the internet to fight back against your perceived affronts. I think you just need to settle down & realize that, as Mick Jagger once said, you can't always get what you want. Sure, restaurants are there to "serve" their guests, but only to a certain point; and you sir, according to what you have written in your posts, are abusing and pushing that point way over the line.

I must admit, though, that I get a perverse pleasure out of reading your posts. Every time you praise an establishment, I wonder how many days it'll be until you turn on them like a rabid doberman with a computer because you didn't get exactly what you wanted.

& As a former server, if a customer ever found it neccessary to WRITE their order down instead of just SPEAKING to me, I'd be very offended.

& finally, no affiliation w/ Aurelio's, never even been there. Just annoyed enough by this ridiculous thread to put my 2 cents in.

AL1,

You joined the membership of LTHForum three days ago, you have two posts to this site, and yet you've spent enough of your personal time to look back months of the history of my posts. Wow!!! That is amazing!
Obviously, you assume that I am the only person who writes complaints about restaurants on this forum, and you seem to attack me for it, as though I am in the wrong for doing so. My posts which show complaint toward a restaurant, have been straightforward, honest, and fair to the issues which I have experienced, without unfounded and unjust insult. You have no right to judge me as you did, as you have no idea of who I am personally, other than your own opinions of my posts, which clearly, you do not and can not see it from my perspective. Alot of my complaints have been based from accessibility issues regarding my disability. Please do not even begin to try to judge me on that. You are not me. Maybe you were a good server who never screwed up a customer's order. However, from the experience of my being a routine customer at many restaurants, I know that many servers appreciate my writing stuff down, because if there is a mistake made in the order, it's the chef's fault, not the server's fault. Also, there are certain ingredients in food which I cannot have. By me writing it down, means that the server isn't responsible if they forget something which I've said to them, which could lead to trouble.

Regarding Aurelio's Pizza in LaGrange, they didn't just not cook the pizza to my preference, they undercooked the pizza, to which quality many people would not accept, with the one exception of the time when the owner's son made the pizza. Clearly, that is reason enough to complain. Perhaps if some people would stop criticizing me for my complaint in this thread, I would stop responding to them and this thread would either cease new posts or the thread would go into different directions regarding Aurelio's Pizza.

I re-read your posts and to be honest, I can't believe that you would even consider going back there again. Obviously, the manager sees you as someone who would never be satisfied or who is so demanding that it is not worth their effort for your business. Instead of forcing them to act or prepare your food a certain way, you seriously need to move on. There are a lot of pizza places in the western burbs, and who knows, you might find one you like.

BP wrote:AL1,

You joined the membership of LTHForum three days ago, you have two posts to this site, and yet you've spent enough of your personal time to look back months of the history of my posts. Wow!!! That is amazing!
Obviously, you assume that I am the only person who writes complaints about restaurants on this forum, and you seem to attack me for it, as though I am in the wrong for doing so. My posts which show complaint toward a restaurant, have been straightforward, honest, and fair to the issues which I have experienced, without unfounded and unjust insult. You have no right to judge me as you did, as you have no idea of who I am personally, other than your own opinions of my posts, which clearly, you do not and can not see it from my perspective. Alot of my complaints have been based from accessibility issues regarding my disability. Please do not even begin to try to judge me on that. You are not me. Maybe you were a good server who never screwed up a customer's order. However, from the experience of my being a routine customer at many restaurants, I know that many servers appreciate my writing stuff down, because if there is a mistake made in the order, it's the chef's fault, not the server's fault. Also, there are certain ingredients in food which I cannot have. By me writing it down, means that the server isn't responsible if they forget something which I've said to them, which could lead to trouble.

Regarding Aurelio's Pizza in LaGrange, they didn't just not cook the pizza to my preference, they undercooked the pizza, to which quality many people would not accept, with the one exception of the time when the owner's son made the pizza. Clearly, that is reason enough to complain. Perhaps if some people would stop criticizing me for my complaint in this thread, I would stop responding to them and this thread would either cease new posts or the thread would go into different directions regarding Aurelio's Pizza.

We're ordering pizza for the family from the Aurelio's in Homewood for Science Boy's birthday Sunday night. Glad to hear the tip about asking for the "old" oven. Thanks!

BP wrote:AL1,

You joined the membership of LTHForum three days ago, you have two posts to this site, and yet you've spent enough of your personal time to look back months of the history of my posts. Wow!!! That is amazing!

Been reading this forum for a while; I didn't "research" you.

Muttster wrote:I re-read your posts and to be honest, I can't believe that you would even consider going back there again. Obviously, the manager sees you as someone who would never be satisfied or who is so demanding that it is not worth their effort for your business. Instead of forcing them to act or prepare your food a certain way, you seriously need to move on. There are a lot of pizza places in the western burbs, and who knows, you might find one you like.

One of the reasons why I have complained about this issue to the extent in which I have, is because this isn't just a family-owned local pizza place which sets its own policies. If it was, then I would complain and "move on", unless of course, I kept being criticized by people for my complaints, which is the other reason why I have posted so much in this thread. Anyways, the LaGrange location of Aurelio's Pizza, is not its own business. It is an extension of the Aurelio's Pizza chain. The LaGrange location must follow policies set by the family ownership. Obviously, those policies have never been a problem for me, because the Homewood location has been great for me, even though the distance is a problem now because of gas prices. Yet, those policies were not followed when I was present at the LaGrange location, in my situation. However, according to some of the posts written here in this thread, it seems that perhaps the LaGrange location has improved. So, I believe that they at least ought to contact me about this issue.

AL1 wrote:

BP wrote:AL1,

You joined the membership of LTHForum three days ago, you have two posts to this site, and yet you've spent enough of your personal time to look back months of the history of my posts. Wow!!! That is amazing!

Been reading this forum for a while; I didn't "research" you.

So, the reason you finally joined here, was to ask about Ted Nugent and to criticize me?

You certainly have the right to complain to management at the store and to the corporate office. At that point though, it is up to the Aurelio's management to take the ball and run with it. I probably would have made my displeasure known to the manager but after they continue to screw up, I would have either resolved never to go back again or call the company to let them know what went on or more likely, do both.

Sometimes you just have to let it go. They don't want your business.


"One of the reasons why I have complained about this issue to the extent in which I have, is because this isn't just a family-owned local pizza place which sets its own policies. If it was, then I would complain and "move on", unless of course, I kept being criticized by people for my complaints, which is the other reason why I have posted so much in this thread. Anyways, the LaGrange location of Aurelio's Pizza, is not its own business. It is an extension of the Aurelio's Pizza chain. The LaGrange location must follow policies set by the family ownership. Obviously, those policies have never been a problem for me, because the Homewood location has been great for me, even though the distance is a problem now because of gas prices. Yet, those policies were not followed when I was present at the LaGrange location, in my situation. However, according to some of the posts written here in this thread, it seems that perhaps the LaGrange location has improved. So, I believe that they at least ought to contact me about this issue."

Muttster wrote:You certainly have the right to complain to management at the store and to the corporate office. At that point though, it is up to the Aurelio's management to take the ball and run with it. I probably would have made my displeasure known to the manager but after they continue to screw up, I would have either resolved never to go back again or call the company to let them know what went on or more likely, do both.

Sometimes you just have to let it go. They don't want your business.

You probably are correct about Aurelio's, and it's unfortunate that their business has become this way. It is a sign of them growing too fast for their own good, and they have ignored certain aspects of business which helped them get to where they are now. Personally, I hate the franchising system and I prefer corporate-owned structure to chains. There are many conflicts with franchising, and it can hurt the overall business. Anyways, hopefully Aurelio's will improve soon.

After reading this post I had to go and try Aurelio's in LaGrange. About 15 years ago I lived in the south suburbs and tried the Homewood location and I liked it so I would imagine the same at LaGrange. Well time has not changed the pizza. I found the restaurant to be quite nice. The staff was very pleasant and the pizza was very good. I had the pizz in the old owen and I asked for the double sauce on top version which looks pretty cool and tastes great.I do not know what all the fuss is about but if your in the area and are looking for a nice time with nice atmosphere and good tasting pizza then check this place out. Good bang for the buck.