Lantern Pizza Co. Warms Hearts With Piping Hot Pie In Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — When diners visit Lantern Pizza Co. in Downers Grove, they often ask, "Where's the lantern?" To which co-owner Kim Coudreaut replies, "It’s here. It’s the oven. It’s really the heartbeat of the whole operation."

The inspiration for Lantern Pizza Co.'s name was sparked when owner-chef Dan Coudreaut traveled to Italy in 2017 to realize what he calls a "bucket list" dream of immersing himself in the craft of pizza making and becoming a certified pizzaiolo, or pizza chef. In Italy, the pizzaioli often called the oven "la lanterna," or the lantern, Dan told Patch.

Since Lantern Pizza opened its doors in July 2022, the family-run pizzeria has been a beacon of sorts for the Downers Grove community, warmly welcoming diners to its Ogden Avenue spot, training local high school students in the art of pizza-making and dropping off 50 pounds of focaccia at FISH Pantry every Thursday morning.

"Why pizza?"

"Why pizza?" is a question Dan Coudreaut gets a lot because he's a classically trained chef, he told Patch. Coudreaut has 40 years of experience in the food industry. His resume includes training at the Culinary Institute of America and 13 years with as the Vice President of Culinary Innovation and Executive Chef with McDonald's Corporation.

During that time of working "in the real world," Dan says he was always experimenting with creating the perfect pizza.

"As a chef when you’re trying to please people with food, when you’re trying to nourish people with food, pizza is the most beloved food of all of humanity. All around the world."

Dan said his goal was “Simplicity, a targeted menu and really focusing on making a great pizza rather than distracting us with other menu categories.”

"La Lanterna"

At Lantern Pizza, everything —from the cheese to the dough, which is hand-tossed right in front of the customers— is made in-house, using recipes that Dan spent years perfecting.

"One of our biggest commitments is fresh ingredients and keeping the menu simple, but authentic," Kim told Patch.

The menu at Lantern Pizza Co. includes six pizzas that run the gamut from old standbys like cheese and pepperoni to more inventive options like the pineapple bacon pizza, a favorite of Kim's.

"It’s not a Hawaiian pizza," she explained. "The pineapple is baked in butter and brown sugar before it even gets to the pizza."

Dan called the pineapple bacon pizza "an indulgent treat because you have all these sweet and savory flavors coming together." He said it "really challenges your palate."

Diners can also opt to make their own pizza, choosing from a variety of toppings that include arugula, kalamata olives and roasted artichoke hearts. Gluten free dough is also available for those with certain dietary restrictions.

Customers can watch as workers prep their pies and then put them into "la lanterna," the pizzeria's hand-built brick oven. There, temperatures reach between 750 and 900 degrees, which means the pizza is ready to serve after an astonishingly swift two minutes.

"It's truly been a passion of our entire family."

With Dan's experience as a chef and Kim's background as the Director of Catering and Conference planning for the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, opening a restaurant seemed to be an obvious career move.

When Dan returned from Italy brimming with inspiration, Kim said, "I know we’ve been talking ourselves out of a restaurant for 25 years, but we really need to do this."

"It’s truly been a passion of our entire family for 20-plus years," Kim told Patch.

The couple's daughter, Danielle, is currently studying marketing at Fordham University in New York. Danielle, who worked in local pizza shops growing up, uses her expertise to help with Lantern Pizza Co.'s social media marketing. When she's back home from school, Danielle also lends a hand by taking orders and making pizzas.

Their son, Chase, a senior at Naperville Central High School, is a baker and pizza maker at the restaurant, Dan told Patch. Like Danielle, Chase has worked at pizzerias in the area and was eager to help when his family decided to open Lantern Pizza Co.

It was Chase's idea to donate the restaurant's extra dough to a food bank in the area. They've been using the dough to make focaccia for FISH Pantry.

Dan said, "It makes them feel good. It makes us feel good. We almost don’t want to miss a week." So, if there's no extra dough on a given week, Dan and his team will make more for the focaccia donations.

"Enamored with the pizza-making process"

Like Danielle and Chase did, much of the staff at Lantern Pizza Co. are "really great high school students" getting their first jobs working at this local pizzeria, Dan said.

Initially, Dan had been uncertain about how his staff would take to the methods of hand-mixing the cheese, tossing the dough and using the oven. He said the students have picked up quickly and are eager to learn how to bake the pies.

"They are enamored with pizza making process within a week of being here," Dan told Patch of his 20 to 30 employees.

Kim added, "It seems like everyone is having fun, including us."

"Thanks for making great pizza."

Kim told Patch the family has been "pleasantly surprised" by the way things have been unfolding since they opened Lantern Pizza Co.

She said, "We went into this with eyes wide open and I think I have been pleasantly surprised at where I’m enjoying it when I thought it would be a stress, but it really isn't."

In spring and summer, diners will be able to enjoy their pizza al fresco in the restaurant's outdoor dining area.

Kim added, "We have been so warmly welcomed by Downers Grove that it warms your heart and we feel like we belong here."

Dan said he's grateful to the community as well. When diners leave, he tells them, "Thanks for visiting us."

To which they often reply, "Thanks for making great pizza."

And sometimes it's just as simple as that.

Lantern Pizza Co., 1420 Ogden Ave., is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. for dine-in and carryout. Delivery is available on Friday and Saturday nights, as of early February.