Shop Visit - Prince Street Pizza
Finding out how one of New York's most infamous pizzerias made its way to Chicago.
I met David Choi at Prince Street Pizza’s brand new West Loop location last January in the midst of a bitter, nasty cold snap, and during the initial onslaught of their grand opening. I’ve seen some significant rollouts for new pizzerias before, but nothing like the wave of press that Prince Street got. They were everywhere:
I was originally contacted by Hannah Reed from CARVINGBLOCK and invited to a friends and family tasting. I asked to speak with David then, but that event was beyond insanity, so I have to give Hannah a huge thank you for following up and finding time for David and I to sit down together.
It was obvious David had been putting in some long hours to get ready for the launch (he had also literally just flown back from Korea), which was comedically reinforced sitcom-style when we walked into the LaColombe down the street and all the staff already knew him.
While David might be new to running a pizza shop, he’s no stranger to the restaurant industry. He founded his own highly successful Seoul Taco brand in 2011, which started out as a one man food truck in his hometown of St. Louis, and now has ten locations spread all throughout Chicago and Missouri.
David and I talked a lot about pizza, how he got his start, why he initally wanted to open Seoul Taco in Chicago (but felt like he couldn’t), his introduction to Prince Street’s CEO Lawrence Longo, how it took years to find the right location for the shop, why having multiple locations is an advantage, why they think it’s vital to use a high-end filtration system to replicate New York water in Chicago, how he reconciled with a major contoversy in Prince Street’s past, the strangest place he’s seen someone eat a slice of their pizza (so far), what time you should show up to try and skip the line, and a whole lot more.
CPN: Has the responses been what you anticipated so far?
David: I didn't know it would be like this. And just with the weather, too. I figured maybe we'll be busy with to go orders, or deliveries. With the wind chill it’s been sub zero temperatures, but that hasn't stopped the line at all. We have heaters out there. And I’ll run down to Starbucks to bring warm drinks to people in line. But yeah, it's been nutty off the bat.
CPN: So what's your official title in regard to Prince Street?
David: I'm their operating partner here in Chicago. And I also have a partner here, Matthew Chu, and him and his family run Chiu Quon Bakery, which is the oldest Chinese bakery in Chicago. Me and Matt got to be friends when I moved here, and we’ve opened a few ventures with each other.
CPN: Did Prince Street approach you?
David: I curate a lot of food lineups for festivals, so when ComplexCon was in Chicago in 2018 — they're LA based and their crew is LA based — the CEO of Prince Street (Lawrence Longo) was here. One of my buddies was like, you need to meet the owner of Seoul Taco, he helped me with the curation. And I just hit it off with him. And I was like, why don't you come to Chicago? Not being like, let me operate one of the stores. Just Chicago is such a great pizza city. And he was like, we wanna go where there's not much competition. Which makes a lot of sense. Then it evolved into — if the right opportunity persists, let's talk about it. We had a lull for a few years actually, and then this space opened up, the old Girl & The Goat kitchen. So I was like Lawrence, this is the spot. Then he said, I need an operator out there. And I was like, I'll do it. Just being familiar with the brand, and the product, and how great it is. And the feel of the stores for Prince Street, how it’s grab and go, we're sort of missing that vibe here in Chicago. There are slice shops, but they almost always have a full dining room as well. So we really just wanted a grab and go. And I think this location is perfect for that.
CPN: How did you hear about Prince Street in the first place?
David: I started my business in 2011. Shortly after that, any break I had, I went to New York, or somewhere for a quick weekend trip, just to R&D. And if you go to New York, you have to have pizza.
CPN: That’s all I do.
David: They opened in 2012 and had buzz right off the bat. And all my local friends in New York were like, you have to try it. And once I tried it I was like, holy shit. We’re all used to the thin New York rounds, but having that Sicilian pie with the cup-and-char pepperoni?
CPN: So the Spicy Spring is what got you.
David: That’s what got me. And ever since then, I've been a big fan. So getting introduced to Lawrence at that festival, I let him know that if you guys ever come to Chicago or the Midwest, I could help liaison for that.
CPN: You grew up in St. Louis, so how did you wind up in Chicago?
David: My brand Seoul Taco expanded here ten years ago, in 2015. So this year will be my tenth year out here. I started as a food truck in 2011 in St. Louis. And I wanted to start up here first, but I was familiar with St. Louis since it was my hometown, and the food truck laws here were so antiquated. So it was easier to open on my home turf.
CPN: Do you feel like a Chicagoan now?
David: St. Louis in my heart, but I feel like a Chicagoan now. If you live here for a decade, you know?
CPN: Since you run your own successful chain of restaurants, what made you decide to take on this challenge and do something completely different?
David: Just being in the business for 14 years, I know the ins and outs of running a fast service, quick pace restaurant, and setting up a team. I started by doing everything from scratch by myself. I was the dishwasher, I was everything, you know, running a food truck. So I'm really grateful to have a start like that, where I understand every facet of how a restaurant runs. And now, having over 300 employees, it’s become second nature. I know how to operate, how to open. I’ve been through multiple openings. Myself and Matt, we have a lot of experience in the industry. We were primed to open this.
CPN: What is it about West Loop/Fulton Market that made you think it was the ideal location for the shop?
David: For any carryout or takeout space, you need foot traffic first of all. And other than like, maybe Michigan Avenue, where you get a lot of tourists, I wanted it where there was heavy local foot traffic. Where Chicagoans can be proud they have a brand like Prince Street here. And then not only that, but people also have residential and office buildings all around here. Like Google, and McDonald's are here. So it's a real live/work/play neighborhood. And I think it's important for our brand, at least the first door, to be in a real neighborhood.
CPN: What's the response been like from the neighborhood so far?
David: It's been fantastic. I’ve heard nothing but good things. A lot of thank yous. People are like, we go to the New York shop all the time! So the brand familiarity definitely helped. There’s a lot of people from the East Coast who are transplants and tell us this is what they’ve been wating for. I love Chicago-style pizza, whether it's tavern or deep-dish, but we get a lot of sentiment from East Coasters like, that's a casserole.
CPN: Can’t escape the old Jon Stewart bit…
David: I don’t know about a casserole, but it's delicious, you know?
CPN: The best response I’ve heard to that is so it's more cheese, and more bread. You don’t like cheese and bread? What's the problem?
David: Exactly.
CPN: How would you describe Prince Street to somebody who's never had it before?
David: As you’ve seen with our water filter, it's authentic New York, and we're bringing it here. We had the whole New York team here training our staff as well. A lot of people aren't familiar with the Sicilian pies. We're a New York brand, and we do have big slices, and the big, round pies as well, but our bread and butter is the Sicilian.
CPN: Besides the fact it's in Chicago, what do you think makes this location different from the other fourteen Prince Street locations?
David: With me having multiple restaurants as well with Seoul Taco, I know they have the same sentiment, to try and emulate the same thing as much as possible. Ingredient wise, we're able to source the exact same things in the Midwest as we are on the East Coast. So to a T we're the same shop in New York. To be transparent, some of the other locations are different because of state regulations.
CPN: I know the West Coast has a hard time with that.
David: West Coast is difficult. They dialed it down, but it’s as close as possible.
CPN: People can look at multiple locations as a negative, but as someone who owns a successful restaurant brand with many locations, how is it actually positive?
David: If you're able to do it the right way, and if you're able to emulate the same thing, why wouldn't you want something you'd go visit in a different city, but it's right outside your back door? That’s a plus for a neighborhood, and a plus for the city, to have a recognizable brand like that.
CPN: What's your dough process like?
David: We keep our temperature in the basement at 75, so we can ferment. But you see how we're turning, so that's the real importance of the temperature. And obviously you saw the water maker, so we can match the same pH level. The pH level really matters for that dough. We let it proof and ferment downstairs for as long as we can.
CPN: Do you have a set amount of time? Or, because you’re so busy, are you using it as soon as you’re done making it?
David: We have to let it sit and rise, but we're constantly producing dough, so we're not falling behind. We don't have huge proofers or anything. And we don't need that because it's going out so fast.
CPN: Is there a set time you have it proof?
David: 45 minutes to an hour.
CPN: How did the water system come about? Is that something that's in other shops?
David: I think as they expanded they were like, something's off, even though they mimicked the exact same process. And eventually it was like, maybe it’s the water? And all the guys from the original shop said it was the water. So now it’s, we need New York water in there, period.
CPN: Do they bring someone in from New York to install the system?
David: Yeah. There's a guy in New York who invented that system. It's pretty neat how it works.
CPN: There were some well documented issues with the original Prince Street founders, Frank and Dominic Morano, and in an article at Eater you even talked about some of your own concerns. Do you know what their current involement is with the restaurant?
David: They're still the owners of Prince Street Pizza. They own the brand. They own the rights to it. I know there's been issues in the past, but that's something we've all moved on from. You can see with our staff and with our partners, we're pretty diverse. And you know, they're pleasant people to be around.
CPN: So you’ve met with them?
David: I have. And I think everyone makes mistakes, and says things that maybe they wish they could take back. But it's been published. And if we all had someone following us and writing down everything we say, I think everyone would have something to come up. It's something that I was apologized for, we’ve moved on. It's evident that they're moving in different direction. And if I felt any type of way of that this wouldn't come to fruition, working as a person of color with this team, I didn't have any inkling of that at all. We all have dinner, hang out and stuff like that, it’s never an issue.
CPN: Is that something you talked about with Lawrence before you got involved?
David: I knew the brand from when I ate the pizza, and I didn't know it was a huge issue. I'm really thankful that off the bat he was like, this has been an issue in the past, but we moved on from it, come check out our company culture. And I did check on it, and everything everything checked off. They're genuinely good people. I tend to surround myself with that in my friendships, and in my relationships. So there's no way I’d go into a business relationship without it.
CPN: Is there anything else about people to know about Prince Street Pizza in Chicago?
David: I'm excited for them to try it. It's a different style. And we're gonna try to get faster and faster. The only thing I hear negative is, look at that line. You can't wait in that. But I would say it's it's worth it. And we're trying to turn it as fast as possible.
CPN: That's not always a bad thing either. If people don’t know Prince Street, it gets them to be like, what's going on in there? And I know that in New York, and even here now, that's part of the attraction for certain places.
David: Our footprint is so small. We don't have tables. You're not gonna wait 15 minutes to sit down, have a server come over to you, and order a drink and an appetizer. It's not coursed out for you. It's just grab and go. Take it and go. Which is my style of eating.
CPN: What's the most creative place you've seen someone eat their pizza so far?
David: On top of their car. Right in front of the store. They were sitting on their trunk, and that was their dining room. We have those warmers out there, which is good, so people will make their own little patio seating.
CPN: Have you talked about what’s going to happen in the summer? Will people be able to sit out there and eat?
David: I think we are gonna try to pull a patio permit. It's a pretty wide sidewalk. If we can get a few tables out there, I think that would be a nice touch. There's a lot of patios around here. Randolph is known for their patio seating. So grab and go, and then sit down? That’s fine, too. But make sure it's outside. We don't have room inside. There's a ledge in the window where people can eat, but it fits like, maybe five people.
CPN: When are you busiest? Have you noticed? Is there a certain time?
David: Right now in the middle of lunch we get busy. And then the busiest is at dinner time. I'd say people start queuing up around 5 o'clock, and then that lasts until like eight, where it's just a long, sustained line.
CPN: What's the best time if somebody wants to try and skip the line?
David: Try to find your favorite slice, and then you could expedite the line by ordering online. And you could skip the line if you have a full pie order. So the line is just for a slices. My life hack would be, I know what I like. I like the Spicy Spring. And our Chicago pie is really good too. That’s the one with Giardiniera on top, and it’s amazing. We use Caruso Giard, and we called the Chicago Spring. And we don't have a supreme pie anywhere in Prince Street, so this is our first supreme as well.
CPN: So it’s only at this shop?
David: Yup. Only at this shop. It’s sausage, cup pepperoni — because we have to have that on there — onions, mushrooms, green up bell peppers, and then we top it with the Caruso Giard. And then on the crust for aesthetics, and because it’s Chicago, we do poppy seeds on the crust.
CPN: Was that your idea?
David: Our whole team came up with it.
CPN: Are you gonna do more pizzas like that in the future? Do you wanna try other specialty stuff?
David: I’d love to try more specialty stuff. Our brand is really familiar with doing collaborations with local chefs, and other local brands. And given my ties within the industry here, I think that would be a fun thing to do.
After the interview I reached back out to Hannah to clarify what role the Morano Family plays in regard to the Chicago iteration of Prince Street Pizza, and this is what she said:
They founded it and that will never change, but they don't have any involvement past that. Lawrence Longo is largest shareholder and sole operator. I can understand people's concerns -- I was when we took on the business, but they are so far removed and it's a bummer that it keeps coming up and tainting the incredibly hard work and great team of people who have put so much heart into this business.
So if you’re someone who pays attention to where you spend your money and who it goes to (and I hope that we all are as much as we can be these days), that should be significant to you. I know it is to me.