Artisanal New York-style pizzeria in the works in Palatine
Giovanni Labbate likes to say that he's been in the pizza business all his life — literally.
“I was born in 1976. The first day out of the hospital, I was in a pizzeria,” the Wauconda resident said. “My father was in the pizza business for 35 to 40 years, and I pretty much was mentored by him and grew up in the pizza business my whole life.”
Labbate said he used to be part-owner of the former Nicodino's Pizza in Bartlett, which closed after he sold his share. He spent the last nine or so years with Billy Bricks Wood Fired Pizza. He was the company's director of operations and now owns Billy Bricks food trucks and a Billy Bricks franchise restaurant in Mount Prospect, he said.
Now, Labbate and his wife, Adrianna, want to open Tievoli Pizza Bar in a strip mall at 44 W. Palatine Road in Palatine. The space would have seating for about 40 people and offer carryout and delivery.
Tievoli — or “I love it” spelled backward — would offer “really artisanal New York-style pizza” along with salads, pasta, sandwiches and more, Labbate said. The restaurant would have a “very trendy” decor with a black and white color scheme, some brick, and some gold tile and gold lighting, he said.
Pizza would be cooked in a PizzaMaster electric oven that “cooks to perfection,” Labbate said.
“Basically, I want to bring back what my father did back in the day, obviously with a little twist and modernizing.”
Labbate's father immigrated from Italy at age 18 and ran pizza places in food courts in Chicago and throughout the United States, Labbate said.
Labbate has three children: a 26-year-old son who helps run the pizza trucks and two teenagers who help out at the Mount Prospect restaurant. The Palatine restaurant also would be a family affair.
The pizza business has withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly thanks to people ordering from home, Labbate said.
Labbate, who lived in Palatine for about five years, said he'd been looking for a suitable location for Tievoli “for quite a bit.” The perfect occasion came when the owner of the Palatine strip mall, a friend of his, offered an open spot, he said.
Labbate said he does a lot of pizza competitions, including the World Pizza Games to be held at the International Pizza Expo next month in Las Vegas, where last year he took first place for the mid-America region in the traditional division.
“What makes a great pizza? The products and the time,” he said. “Our dough takes about 72 hours to completely ferment before it's ready to use.”
Ingredients include Stanislaus tomatoes from California, San Marzano tomatoes from Italy, and Italian products like mozzarella di Bufala and mozzarella fior di latte, he said.
The Palatine zoning board of appeals will hold a special hearing March 8 regarding the restaurant's special use permit request. The village council will need to give final approval for that and a beer and wine liquor license for the restaurant.
Labbate said he plans to begin construction as soon a the village gives the OK.
“It will be a very nice pizzeria. Not your normal mom and pop,” he said.