With Roots in Chicago Since 1923, Chicago’s Very Own Commemorates the Title with Pizza Parties, Special Offers and Donation to the City of Chicago of 11,923 Pizzas
CHICAGO (October 15, 2024) – It’s official! Home Run Inn (HRI) is the founder of National Tavern-Style Pizza Day on October 22. With roots as a tavern on Chicago’s Southside since 1923 and officially serving its signature crispy crust since the early 1940’s, Mayor Brandon Johnson cheers on Home Run Inn for the first celebration on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 that will be filled with special offers and a donation to support the people of the great City of Chicago!
Festivities will include Home Run Inn’s popular Large Cheese, Sausage or Pepperoni Pizzas for $13.99 (regular price $21.75-$25.00, limit 3 per customer), available at any Home Run Inn restaurant October 22 and 23; a chance to win one of 23 Throw Back Tavern-Style Pizza Parties (to include 10 pizzas, a tavern-style pizza party kit and limited time tavern-style merch valued at $200 each); and a donation of 11,923 pizzas during the year 2025 to the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) for Chicagoans experiencing homelessness, families, seniors and youth.
Home Run Inn, known for its tavern-style thin crust pizza, has been an iconic institution in Chicago since 1923. The original tavern located at the corner of 31st Street and Kildare Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood was owned by great grandparents Mary and Vincent Grittani. It was later named “Home Run Inn” in 1947 when a home run from a neighborhood baseball game was hit through the tavern’s window.
The family-owned business continued when their daughter married Nick Perrino, who, after he returned from World War II, joined his mother-in-law in the tavern. They came up with the idea to put complimentary pizza at the bar, as a snack to go with a cold drink. The family’s original recipe from Bari, Italy of hand-pinched crispy crust, zesty sauce and plentiful cheese soon became a hit. Thus, Home Run Inn began selling the pizza, and the famous tavern-style recipe took off.
“We were among the pioneers in conceptualizing frozen pizza,” noted Gina Perrino Bolger, a fourth-generation family member and Senior VP of Marketing. “A regular customer from Wisconsin frequently requested his pizza to be partially baked. This piqued my grandfather’s curiosity, leading him to discover that the customer would store the pizza in his icebox to finish baking it later at home.” Home Run Inn tavern-style frozen pizzas originated back in the 1960’s and are now available in grocery stores across the country and one of the top 10 pizza brands sold nationwide.
Home Run Inn, led by fourth-generation family member CEO Dan Costello, remains passionately committed to building their family legacy, upholding the values passed down from their great-grandparents, and actively giving back to the communities they serve and beyond.
About Home Run Inn (HRI)
Home Run Inn Pizza is considered Chicago’s original tavern-style thin crust pizza known for its irresistible flavor, hand-pinched crispy crust, zesty sauce, plentiful cheese and homemade sausage. The small tavern of the 1920s was officially named Home Run Inn in 1947 when a baseball from a neighborhood game came crashing through the tavern’s window. Now, the company has nine pizzerias throughout the Chicagoland area and frozen pizza available from coast to coast. Home Run Inn Pizza is currently the Official Pizza of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field and sold at Chicago’s Midway International Airport. Still family-owned and operated, Home Run Inn Pizza ranks among the top 10 frozen pizza brands sold nationally and number one in the Chicagoland area. For further information regarding Home Run Inn Pizza visit www.homeruninnpizza.com.
ABOUT DFSS
Working with community partners, the Department of Family & Support Services connects Chicago residents and families to resources that builds stability, supports their well-being, and empowers them to thrive.
