One Of Chicago’s Best Deep-dish Pizzerias Is Moving To Noble Square

Milly’s Pizza in the Pan is moving. | Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

Milly’s Pizza In The Pan is leaving Uptown for a larger location

Here’s a Chicago pizza bombshell: Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, one of the city’s best deep-dish pizzerias, is closing its Uptown location to move into a new location. Owner Robert Maleski announced that his restaurant will relocate to Noble Square inside a space at the southeast corner of Ashland and Walton.

Milly’s debuted in 2020 in a Logan Square ghost kitchen, making 10 pizzas a day, and the pies sold out in a flash. In February 2022, the pizzeria found a permanent home at 1005 W. Argyle Street in Uptown.

Maleski tells Eater he hopes to open at 925 N. Ashland Avenue by the end of July. His Uptown lease expires on August 1, so there’s wiggle room, and he hasn’t declared a closing date in Uptown. Milly’s is one of the city’s premier deep-dish joints, as Maleski layers quality ingredients onto a crust that carries the caramelized ring popular at fellow pan pizza spots Burt’s Place and Pequod’s Pizza. As it’s become hip for Chicagoans to shun deep dish, Maleski’s care consistently showcases deep dish at its full potential, a reminder of how delicious this local delicacy can be, despite the “it’s only for tourists” narrative. Milly’s is mostly a takeout and delivery operation, and the new location will be, too.

“It’s going to have even less seating than the Uptown location,” Maleski says. “The front only has 12 seats.”

But the good news is that a larger kitchen and better oven will allow Milly’s to double its production from 60 pizzas a day to 120. While Uptown had embraced his small business — Maleski initially made all the pizzas himself — the restaurant had outgrown the space. Maleski was baking using a convection oven, and while the results were tasty, he says the appliance wasn’t very forgiving.

Maleski says he wasn’t looking to leave when the new location’s landlord approached him about three weeks ago. But when he saw the space, currently home to a ghost kitchen operation called Lucky’s Food Group, Maleski became enamored with its conveyor-style pizza oven.

The new restaurant’s Cutler oven (a brand previously and more widely known as Middleby Marshall) is often called the “Cadillac of pizza ovens,” coveted by pizzaiolos for its ability to deliver consistent and crispy results.

The space was once home to a location of Pizza Metro, the Roman-style pizza spot known for its late-night hours. But since their exit, the oven, which Maleski estimates is 15 to 20 years old, has remained mostly dormant. Maleski says he doesn’t have immediate plans to expand the menu as he anticipates the demand for pizza to increase in Noble Square. The move also makes Milly’s more accessible to tourists staying at downtown hotels who need their deep-dish fix and don’t want to waste their vacation waiting for a table at a downtown chain.

Maleski signed a lease on Monday, April 28, and has had a chance to cook in the new space to experiment with the new oven. He’s pleased: “It’s taken everything up to a new level.”

Milly’s opened a location in suburban Berwyn in March 2024, and it won’t be impacted by the move. While the move will open more opportunities for Milly’s, Maleski remains melancholy about leaving Uptown. He’s grateful for their support: “It’s been a great neighborhood for us.”

Milly’s Pizza in the Pan, 925 N. Ashland Avenue, planned to open by July 31.