Antioch Pizza Shop, the franchised pizza chain with sites in Illinois and Wisconsin, is opening a new location in Libertyville at 820 South Milwaukee Ave.
The company’s eighth brick-and-mortar will move into the former home of Gino’s East of Chicago, which closed over four years ago, according to the Daily Herald. Franchise owners John and Chandra Hampson hope to open in mid-Summer, but the company’s website has this site opening in Fall 2023. John has spent the past 19 years as an SVP and CIO for American Enterprise Bank and decided to look for a franchise opportunity in early 2020 after always having a passion for cooking. Chandra works in the pharmaceutical industry.
“Antioch Pizza always offered benefits to kids who did well in school,” Chandra tells the Daily Herald. “We began scouring the areas where it would work. This is where we knew we wanted to be.”
The new 3,000-square-foot space will be in the Cambridge Plaza Shopping Center across from Advocate Condell Medical Center. Chandra found the site while on the road for work, and talks finally progressed in early 2022. Negotiations continued for about a year before a lease was signed. Customers can expect eight pizza ovens, a 16-foot farm table in the middle of the dining area, and a 16-tub “dipping cabinet” with Cedar Crest ice cream. The restaurant offers all types of pizzas, including breakfast pizzas, heart-shaped pizzas, and custom messages on the pizza.
While Antioch Pizza Shop has been around since 1977, current owners Art and Karen Wicklein bought the original location in 2008. Art kept his corporate job until 2014 and never planned on opening a second location. Then after giving advice to a friend, the couple decided to expand the brand through franchising. While the company already has seven locations and a food truck in two states, the company hopes to continue the momentum and open franchised locations in Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, North and South Carolina, Texas, and Florida.
