Bonci Pizza Aims For Late Spring Opening In Downtown Naperville

NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville residents will soon be able to visit the first Bonci Pizza to open outside of Chicago or Rome. The pizzeria's 22 E. Chicago Ave. location should be open by late spring, according to the Downtown Naperville Alliance.

Bonci's Roman-style pies are made with fresh, organic, seasonal ingredients, which means their pizza selection "changes sometimes hourly depending on what seasonal produce and toppings are available," the Bonci Pizza website states.

The dough is made with organic Italian stone ground flour and left to rise for up to 72 hours before it's baked.

While Bonci Pizza asserts the daily toppings are "impossible to predict," diners will be able to choose from as many as 15 pies topped with seasonal produce, cured meats and artisanal cheeses, such as caciocavallo. Pumpkin and speck have also made it on the menu.

Bonci usually keeps certain favorites, like margherita pizza, on hand, but their specialty pies change throughout the day.

Altogether, Bonci has come up with 1,500 pizza recipes, including potato according to the website.

Chef Gabriele Bonci, opened Pizzarium Bonci in Rome in 2003. Since then, Bonci, whom Vogue dubbed "the Michelango of Pizza," has opened three locations in Chicago.

The Chicago Bonzi Pizza locations are in the Loop, Lakeview and Lincoln Park. They were named the city's best pizza by Chicago Magazine in 2019.

At 22 E. Chicago Ave., Bonci's Pizza joins The White Sheep and Avocado Theory, both of which opened in 2025.