Roots Handmade Pizza Expanding to Former Chicago Ale House Location

A handmade pizza joint is adding its name to the growing list of new businesses coming to Lawrence Avenue. 

With construction underway on a Mariano's Fresh Market and plans for culinary brewhouse in the rezoning process, Roots Handmade Pizza will take over the old Chicago Ale House space at 2200 W. Lawrence Ave. 

Roots' first location, at 1924 W. Chicago Ave. in Ukrainian Village, opened in May 2011. With pizza cut into Quad Cities-style strips, it became a came a favorite alternative to Chicago deep dish and New York by-the-slice.

And for beer lovers, the pizza has a malt crust to go with a Midwest-only beer selection. 

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An opening date won't be for another 6 to 9 months, Ward 47 Ald. Ameya Pawar said, but his office would host a community meeting soon to discuss the project. 

The alderman has been promising to breathe new life into the old Chicago Ale House building after it shuttered August of 2011. In October, he hinted about a restaurant at the location, along with a brewpub nearby. 

“They key vision here is to connect what you see in Lincoln Square onto Lawrence into Andersonville,” Pawar said at the time. 

Talks between the alderman and owners Greg Mohr and Scott Weiner started more than a year ago. The two have been rapidly expanding their Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, opening The Berkshire Room and another West Town Bakery location in River North, Eater Chicago reports. 

But the pizza place will have a few slices of competition in the area. Himmel's, the revamped Pizza D.O.C., and Borelli's, which opened in January, are both less than two blocks away on Lawrence Avenue. 

Read more: 

• New Brewhouse Rejects River North for Ravenswood Location
• Mariano's, New Apartments to Create 500 Temporary and Permanent Jobs