Palooza Pizza plans to open this spring at former Firehouse Dogs site in Schaumburg
Nearly a year and a half after the award-winning Firehouse Dogs closed up shop in a dispute over rent, a new restaurant named Palooza Pizza is expected to open this spring in the same Schaumburg building.
With an eclectic menu planned, experienced restaurateur Gamal Badier is seeking a special-use permit from the Schaumburg village board next Tuesday that would allow the eatery to open in the 2,865-square-foot building at 1820 W. Irving Park Road.
His proposed menu includes pizza, calzones, meat stromboli, Philly cheesesteaks, falafel, gyro sandwiches, beef kufta kebabs, beef and chicken shawarma, hummus, soups and salads.
Badier said he doesn't expect to share Firehouse Dogs' issues with rent for the simple fact that he bought the property.
If the village board approves the special-use permit next week, Badier expects it to take a few months to prepare the building to open.
The special-use permit Firehouse Dogs had to operate a restaurant in the building couldn't be transferred because the property has been vacant for more than a year, Schaumburg Landscape and Sustainability Planner Martha Dooley said. The village's zoning board of appeals unanimously recommended approval of the permit last week, she added.
Firehouse Dogs closed in November 2021 after more than five years in business.
In the summer of 2018, Travel + Leisure magazine named the restaurant the home of the best hot dog in Illinois.
The owners said an increase in rent was the main reason they were looking for an alternative site in the fall of 2021. They said a nearby location - possibly down the road in Hanover Park - was most likely, but the hot dog restaurant hasn't resurfaced.