That being said, I know next to nothing about the place beyond my own experiences, so I really need your help in completing the puzzle.
The Royal Chessman building circa 2005
The story starts, of course, with the pizza. They served thin crust (square cut), Chicago style deep dish & stuffed pizza. I ate a lot of all three. I remember the sauce as rugged, salty & zesty, perfect with beer. It was pureed, not chunky, and the flavor mixed very well with the vegetables. The crust was hearty and flavorful on it's own. The thin crust was a rather traditional style for Chicago, slightly thicker than a NY style pie, and the deep dish/stuffed crust had a classic, biscuit like texture. They did a great job in creating a unique, traditional Chicago style pie that stood up against the rest in a very big pizza town.
The owner appears to have been a guy named R. Bruce Duncan. I know nothing about him other than information from an obituary found on line in the Pioneer Press/Wilmette Life archives of the Wilmette Public Library. His wife was named Kathleen L. Trojanowski and he had a mother & sister living in Florida. Mr. Duncan passed away on Oct. 2nd, 1992 at the age of 55. You can view his obit here.
For most of it's life the Royal Chessman was a take-out/delivery place. They may of had a table or two out front, but not many that I can recall. In later years they expanded to two storefronts and added a dining room. From what I can remember, this was a bust and mostly empty anytime I was there. In fact, I don't think we ever ate in there. Perhaps one time with my sister & her boyfriend, but I can't be sure. Somewhere along the way somebody told me that a major rent increase, doubled by the failed dining room, brought it all to an end. But I have no way of knowing if this is true. His obit does call Duncan the 'former' owner, so they may have closed their doors before his death.
The last pizza I had there was a stuffed bacon with my friend Greg Murdock. 'Take The Money And Run' by Steve Miller was on the radio on WCKG when we got back into the car, headed back to my house with our fresh, hot pizza.
So, now I need your help in filling in the rest. Patron, former employes, anyone who remembers anything about the Royal Chessman, please drop me a line. Got an old menu laying around the house? How about an old photo? Send me an email at theroyalchessman@gmail.com.
Thanks for your time.
6 comments:
I remember this place as well and loved it, too! I put my memories of it in an email to the address you listed.
I grew up around the corner on Greenleaf, and remember this place fondly. My mom, a dedicated east coast thin crust pizza lover, always ordered a "garbage" pizza, which had a bit of everything on it (including the bacon you describe). We would walk down to the Chessman to pick it up, usually on Thursdays, a night when we would often order out food or go to a restaurant.
It closed when I was about 9 (was there perhaps a fire?), so my memories are a little faded. However, I remember walking in the door to a dining room. Cigarrette smoke filled the air, and the light was dim, kind of like a pool hall (perhaps some beer chandaliers?). There was multicolored carpeting on the floor.
I remember seeing a girl I had a crush on there once when I went to pick up my family's pizza. She had ordered salad (there may have even been a salad bar?), and I tried to flirt with her in a 3rd grade way by making fun of her the next day for eating so healthily in a pizza restaurant. I never got the nerve to ask her out, but my memory of the Chessman will live on forever.
Thank you for starting this blog, and please share any significant findings.
Well I remember this place too! I worked there from 1985 to 1989!! I started as a dishwasher, and that led to pizza prep, pizza making, and then learning all the kitchen jobs! It was a cool job for a teenager, and I learned allot. Bruce & Kathy were cool, and they taought me allot. I could tell some stories of that place too. It was for a time busy on weekends in the dinning room. There used to be a large Northwestern colloege crowd. The business started dropping of when Dominos and Little Ceasers moved in. Pizza Hut too I am sure. But ehy did allright unitl I left end of 1989 begining of 1990 to join USMC. I served Bill Murrarys brother there late at night! Large thin with tomato and a pitcher of beer! Guy gave me 10 bucks tip! It was after closing time, but why not keep it opne for a celebrity! Oh, and I still know the sauce recipe, and use it often when making my homemade pizza!! Use of a pizza stone helps! Anyone who wants, and it don't seem like much of a following, feel fre to e-mail me
F15GRAZ@HOTMAIL.COM
Well I remember this place too! I worked there from 1985 to 1989!! I started as a dishwasher, and that led to pizza prep, pizza making, and then learning all the kitchen jobs! It was a cool job for a teenager, and I learned allot. Bruce & Kathy were cool, and they taought me allot. I could tell some stories of that place too. It was for a time busy on weekends in the dinning room. There used to be a large Northwestern colloege crowd. The business started dropping of when Dominos and Little Ceasers moved in. Pizza Hut too I am sure. But ehy did allright unitl I left end of 1989 begining of 1990 to join USMC. I served Bill Murrarys brother there late at night! Large thin with tomato and a pitcher of beer! Guy gave me 10 bucks tip! It was after closing time, but why not keep it opne for a celebrity! Oh, and I still know the sauce recipe, and use it often when making my homemade pizza!! Use of a pizza stone helps! Anyone who wants, and it don't seem like much of a following, feel fre to e-mail me
F15GRAZ@HOTMAIL.COM
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Hello all!
Yes! I remember The Chessman. I was sad to hear it went out of business. I loved the crust they made and would very much like to try my hand at duplicating it just to make at home. If one of you could steer me in the right direction I would be very grateful!!
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