Twelve years after graduating together from Lake Forest High School, Jeff Urso and Ray Bozic are still hanging out together – only now as business partners.
Urso and Bozic opened their fourth Donati’s Pizza in July. The latest is at 205 S. Waukegan Road in Lake Bluff. They’ve come a long way since their days of making mischief together as students.
“We were the kids who stayed out late and the cops would bring us home,” Urso said. “It’s funny, now they are some of our best customers.”
More Top Picks Best Outside Micrometers
Urso said they got started in a 900-square-foot storefront hidden in a courtyard behind the 900 block of North Western Avenue.
“We started with $50 in the register, literally hoping we would be open in a week,” Urso said.
Urso had been working around food since he attended Lake Forest High School. Among the jobs he’d worked were at Ferentino’s Pizzeria in Lake Forest, the food stands at Comiskey Park and an uncle’s pizza place in the south suburbs. In 2010, he said a cousin asked him to partner with him on a pizza place called Moccio’s Pizzeria in Highland Park.
“It did good, but I wanted to come back to my home town of Lake Forest,” Urso said. “My cousin bought my shares off me. With that money, I was able to open a 900-square-foot hole in the wall.”
Urso and Bozic decided to offer $1 slices of pizza. They put a sign on the sidewalk advertising the $1 slices. Lake Forest high school students saw the sign and started heading to Donati’s.
“We were flooded,” Urso said. “We did 1,000 slices a day. Then the coaches came and we did sports team lunches. And then their parents came by and it led to dinner business. It was word-of-mouth from high school kids that made us what we are today.”
They expanded to a 3,500-square-foot location in Lake Forest. In 2013, they opened a Donati’s Pizza in Mundelein. In 2014, they opened a third location in Palatine.
The village is pleased to see them open a location in Lake Bluff.
“It’s good to see the Carriage Way [Shopping] Center continue to grow its tenancy,” said Brandon Stanick, assistant to the village administrator.” It adds to the growing mix of restaurants and eateries that are coming to Lake Bluff.”
Kristen Howard, who was finishing a pizza around 1 p.m. Tuesday is familiar with Donati’s Lake Forest location. She thinks there definitely is a niche for Donati’s in Lake Bluff.
“Other pizza places, you have to order from a waitress and wait forever,” Howard said. “You can add like 10 [toppings] and it’s a flat fee.”
Prithui Chetamala and a friend were heading to another nearby restaurant when they saw Donati’s. He was impressed by the variety of toppings, especially hot sauce.
“I think everyone should like them.” he said.
With an established business and a known product, the challenges are different now for Bozic and Urso. Most of their 50 employees are high school students.
Also, Bozic said the food business requires close management, which means a lot of hours on the job.
“If you don’t do it yourself, it’s not going to get done right,” Bozic said.
“You’re so passionate about the business,” Urso said. “At the same time, you want to make sure you are there to watch your kids grow up. We try to find a balance.”
@reporterdude
More Top Picks Best Suede Jackets For Under Clothes