Aurelio's Pizza For Sale In Joliet: 'The Business Is Turnkey'

JOLIET, IL — If you've ever thought about owning your own pizza parlor and you've always had a liking for the products at the Aurelio's Pizza restaurant on Joliet's busiest street, a business opportunity awaits you.

Lauren Grigus and Kristian Lee of Crosstown Commercial informed social media followers of Brian Bessler's Joliet Area Bar & Restaurant Group that Joliet's popular Aurelio's Pizza is up for sale.

"The business is turnkey and has everything you need to get started right away!" the real estate agents wrote.

Crosstown Commercial is trying to sell both the pizza business and restaurant equipment.

People interested in buying Aurelio's can call or text Grigus at 815-407-7139 or contact Lee at 815-954-1749.

At 3101 W. Jefferson St., the Joliet Aurelio's has 639 Google Reviews, averaging 4.1 stars.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the announcement of the Aurelio's being for sale left some people confused and thinking the restaurant across from the Inwood Golf Course is closed.

Here's a sampling of comments that were posted by people in the restaurant group:

• "Does that mean they are closing?"
• "Are they still open? We were going to eat there this weekend?"
• "Someone is cloning their site. They are fully open and not closing."
• "It says for sale, not closing."
• "Not cloning their site," one of the real estate brokers replied back. "I am the agent selling the business. They are open, still. They will remain open."

Joliet Patch has written multiple human interest articles in recent years on the Aurelio's Pizza restaurant, as it's been owned and operated by Luke Pascale.

"The restaurant business is hard, man," remarked Pascale during an October 2021 interview. "I don't think people realize what they're getting into sometimes. There's a lot to deal with, a lot to know.

"We're still here, after a year and a half ago, when this whole thing started," he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Pascale was in his 13th year as the owner, and running Aurelio's Pizza remained an everyday challenge, he said.

The family pizzeria originally started by Joe Aurelio in 1959 in Homewood.

The sausage and pepperoni pizza remains the main staple in Joliet, Pascale said.

"Obviously, pizza is always the most popular. People were on a wings kick for a while, and then all of a sudden that shifted to nacho raviolis," he said.

Around Joliet, Pascale is known for his work ethic and for telling it like it is.

"It's gone from the pandemic to nothing in stock and finding help," Pascale told Joliet Patch in 2021. "It took me three weeks to find a case of pop-up foil to wrap stuff in. The dishwasher was leaking, and I couldn't find parts to replace it. It's crazy just trying to keep stock of stuff and getting employees."

On the plus side, business remained good for Aurelio's, Pascale said.

Friday night crowds remain especially strong, and about 50 percent of Aurelio's sales come from carryout orders. During the week, Aurelio's gets a number of large volume carryout orders from various companies and large businesses across the Joliet area.

Related Patch coverage:

Aurelio's Pizza Owner: 'I Went About 3 Weeks Without A Day Off'

Aurelio's Reopens Dining Room: 'It's All About Survival'

Aurelio's Pizza Buffet Off To Good Start: Luke Pascale