Got Pizza aka Pizza Ria (?)

Anyone know what the deal is w/ these storefronts ?

They seemed to spring up like weeds earlier this year and now I see they are changing the name on all of them. Well, the ones at Ashland/Lincoln/Belmont and North & Oakley anyways.

Pizza Ria? The name alone would keep me from entering.

stevez wrote:Pizza Ria? The name alone would keep me from entering.

Yeah, my father was a Gastroenterologist.

I know what you mean.

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:

stevez wrote:Pizza Ria? The name alone would keep me from entering.

Yeah, my father was a Gastroenterologist.

I know what you mean.

E.M.

My favorite pizza joint (in name only; I never tried the product) is "Pizza 911" in or near Lake Villa. There's a million jokes in that name!

One of my favorite gimmicks is used by Dr. Pizza, in Riverside, with its ambulance delivery vans.

There's also the clown pizza place in Chicago, of course.

Yeah, walking around shopping at Crate n Barrel, Sam's, and CostPlus, I blanched at Pizza Ria. 'figured it'd do well in self-entitled SUV hell.
Why didn't they go for "That Pizza Place?"

I don't know about the name change, but I have been to the one at Lincoln/Belmont/Ashland and I thought the pizza was lousy (pepperoni and sausage) -- the toppings/crust/sauce well below average quality.

Here's a link of others' opinions:

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards ... 59503.html

I ate at the Got Pizza on Lincoln and Ashland once. Coming in for a slice means they take one out of the case, throw it in the oven, and give it back to you for an over priced three dollars. It was trying to be NY style thin crust, but failed, most likely because the ingredients tasted sub-par. Also, what's the deal with having to re-heat a slice for a full ten minutes? Shoulda taken about 3 to 5 if you ask me.

It's been discussed here, too.

Well, this plays into that thread a while back about Streeterville lunches; there's a Got Pizza a two-minute walk from me, so I indulge sometimes, but it's not at all east coast-style -- I've never seen pizza with docked crust anywhere out there.

gleam wrote:There's also the clown pizza place in Chicago, of course.

Do you mean the amazing Little Clown Pizza, 2801 N. Central Park? How the kiddies' eyes light up when the baloon-topped, dented and rusted-through Toyota minivan rolls up to the curb and the driver, bedragled and bedecked in smeary whiteface and vagabond clown pants, slouches up to the door. This is nightmare enough for clown haters; the true horror begins for the pizza lover, when the product comes out of the box. Just about inedible, from my one and only experience about 3 years ago. But it certainly is cheap, and you can't discount the clown (actually, I think "Discount the Clown" may be his name).

JimInLoganSquare wrote:

gleam wrote:There's also the clown pizza place in Chicago, of course.

Do you mean the amazing Little Clown Pizza, 2801 N. Central Park? How the kiddies' eyes light up when the baloon-topped, dented and rusted-through Toyota minivan rolls up to the curb and the driver, bedragled and bedecked in smeary whiteface and vagabond clown pants, slouches up to the door. This is nightmare enough for clown haters; the true horror begins for the pizza lover, when the product comes out of the box. Just about inedible, from my one and only experience about 3 years ago. But it certainly is cheap, and you can't discount the clown (actually, I think "Discount the Clown" may be his name).

I hope this story isn't too off-color, but some less-then-savory acquaintances of mine once arranged for "Discount the Clown" (as he must now be known) to deliver a pizza to the house of a mutual friend of ours who had, a couple of hours before, consumed some fungi of the, ahem, magical sort.

I think he's still scarred to this day, poor chap...

The one at Armitage & Milwaukee has changed its signage to The Pizza Connection.

Ate at the Got Pizza on Ashland/Belmont/Lincoln once and saw no reason to do so again...especially with Art Of Pizza so close by. I wouldn't expect much from Pizza Connection or Pizza Ria

The Pizza Connection awnings lists a new website, which has no information whatsoever. The Got Pizza site, lists 2 FL locations although Chicago locations are referenced in the graphics.

From metromix:
"The owners of Pizza-Ria (who founded the Got Pizza Music Cafe chain) have purchased four of the Chicago Got Pizza outlets. This location morphed into a Pizza-Ria in early October. Look for the same thin-crust NY-style pizza, but they're losing the music focus and are adding new lighting and new couch seating"

And finally, the Pizza-Ria site

Losing the music focus... which did not exist in the slightest at either of the two locations I ever visited. (Calling a slice counter a cafe was pushing it, too.)

There are often these fallouts between new companies franchising like mad and the franchisees once they realize they're not really getting anything other than a name which isn't really known to anyone or being advertised anyway. I'd bet on them closing up soon, or taking on a third or fourth name in relatively short order.

Pizza Ria I couldn't even read on the sign, by the way. But that's not exactly new in that area-- there's a mysterious restaurant just down the street on Lincoln (3100ish) whose logo is equally unreadable-- Fundajo? Fandrys? Fondaryi? Can't tell. Anyone have any idea what it is?

Just want to add a resounding "Booo" to Pizza Ria. I had an unusual craving for pizza yesterday at work, so we ordered a Margherita pizza for delivery. We should have gone for Pequods, but I didn't know it had re-opened already, alas!

The crust was thin and yet somehow doughy, and pretty undercooked. The plum tomato sauce was extremely bland, the mozzerella was rubbery, and there wasn't enough fresh basil. It lacked flavor of any kind.

Argh. I don't eat pizza very often, but now I need to get some more soon to remind myself of how good it can be. Buba Mara here I come!

I LIKE IT & IT SOLVES THE PROBLEM

That yelled I'm comparing it to the crap that been sold as
slices throughout the Chicagoland area (that thick crusted
thick cheese stuff that with the pop costs like $4, it will
fill you up but it's...crap). Nor am I comparing it to New York
style in New York, which I'm sure is wonderful, but we ain't
in New York. It's fine for a thin crust slice here. I also like
Santullo's and I'll settle for Sbarro's thin crust (way better
heated up at home on the oven rack). Ain't tried Piece.
Pizza-ria at Grand & Damen ? got plenty of parking all times
I've been there.

Oh yeah, I do agree, THE NAME PIZZA-RIA DOES SUCK

"come as you are, you can eat in your car"