Uno Chicago Grill

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Uno Chicago Grill, formerly known as Pizzeria Uno or more informally as Uno's, is a loosely-franchised pizzeria restaurant chain credited^[1] with creating Chicago-style pizza. The first Uno's was established in 1943 by former University of Texas football star Ike Sewell in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois^[2]. Sewell opened a second location (called Pizzeria Due) in the same area twelve years later to handle overflow from the original restaurant. Today the corporation is based in Boston, Massachusetts. Ironically, the restaurant chain does not have a major presence in Chicagoland, with only four locations in the region excluding the original Uno and Due restaurants in River North.

The company began franchising in 1980^[3] As of 2005 the chain has 216 restaurants, with 85 franchises and 128 company-owned restaurants in 32 U.S. states. Three additional franchises are located in Puerto Rico, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Entrepreneur magazine ranked it 174th in 2003 and 252nd in 2006 in the magazine's list of the top 500 franchises.

In addition to the traditional Uno restaurants, Uno offers a limited menu (predominately their pizzas) at service plazas and airports.

1 Format changes
2 Thinzettas
3 Franchising
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Format changes

The original Pizzeria Uno on Ohio Street in downtown Chicago

Starting in 1994^[4], Uno broadened its menu to encompass other dishes. Uno's kitchens were updated, adding sauté stations, grills and fryers, and invested heavily in training^[4]^[2].

In 1996, the franchise's beverage list was expanded, and by 1999 so was the portion size, reflecting a trend seen in the industry where customers are buying fewer but larger drinks^[4]. New locations were larger and featured a "Chicago warehouse" look.^[4]^[2].

In 1997, Pizzeria Uno changed its name to Pizzeria Uno...Chicago Bar & Grill; it later^{[citation needed]} simplified the name to Uno Chicago Grill.

The menu, updated again in 2005, still includes several of the restaurant's traditional specialties, particularly its deep dish pizza^[2]. In the tradition of Chicago's speakeasies, more attention is being paid to the bar. Uno's drink list features a dozen wines and a number of specialty drinks, including frozen, mixed and nonalcoholic options^[2].

The expanded menu and format changes were not made at the company's original downtown Chicago locations (Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due)^[5].

[edit] Thinzettas

A complaint filed in April 1997 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged "unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the making of false advertisements"^[6]. The complaint quoted examples where Uno's Thinzettas were characterized as being low in fat. The FTC's complaint stated:

in most cases respondents' Thinzettas thin crust pizzas are not low in fat. Six out of nine types of Thinzettas thin crust pizzas contained from 14 to 36 grams of fat per serving at the time of dissemination of the advertisements^[6].

The complaint was resolved by a consent order^[7] which required them to stop the practice, and for 20 years maintain records about their advertisements and "materials relied upon" for the claims in their ads; they must also keep "tests, reports, studies, surveys, demonstrations, or other evidence" that "contradict, qualify, or call into question" the representations made in their ads.^[7]

[edit] Franchising

Uno Chicago Grill has franchised restaurants outside the Americas in Lahore, Pakistan - Dubai, U.A.E and Seoul, South Korea. Amongst them, the first one was opened in Pakistan.