As a Park Ridge resident, Dan Latino has been cognizant of the popularity of Perry’s Pizza and Ribs. Now that he has purchased the restaurant from longtime owner Nick Straub, who is retiring, Latino knows he has a big task at hand.
“We have to big shoes to fill,” he said after the deal to purchase Perry’s, located at 711 Devon Ave., was completed in early August.
Latino noted he had spoken with Straub four years ago about purchasing Perry’s, but Straub, who spent a total of 42 years running the restaurant, was not interested in selling then. But by 2021, he had changed his mind and a deal was struck between the two entrepreneurs.
Latino intends to take the approximately 2,400-square-foot space and rebrand it as his third Easy Street Pizza, creating his fifth restaurant overall.
“We feel we will be able to offer something different because we serve a traditional Chicago tavern-style pizza and we also do a pan pizza with caramelized pizza crust,” Latino said. “We also specialize in non-dairy and vegan options.”
Latino mentioned East Street Pizzas also serve salads, sandwiches and a selection of homemade appetizers. With a goal of opening by early September, Latino will operate a restaurant with a 70-75 person capacity in addition to tables outside. It will also offer carryout and delivery.
He added the restaurant would be open for dinner during the week, with brunch on Saturday and Sunday. He said additional TVs are on the way along with some other physical changes as he wants his new eatery to be closer in concept to his other places, which are all in Chicago.
He does not anticipate a staffing problem, even though that has been a problem for many restaurants opening up after the pandemic.
“Having four restaurants, we have a variety of people we can pull from and we are going to promote a couple of guys we have had a long time and most of the staff from Perry’s is returning,” Latino said.
He is looking forward to starting a new venture.
“We are a modern pizzeria that celebrates the classics,” Latino said. “We hope the longtime residents of Park Ridge who enjoyed Perry’s will enjoy our food as well and the younger people in Park Ridge will enjoy the modern options.”