Burt's Place Is Open Again In Morton Grove

MORTON GROVE, IL — The iconic deep dish pizza spot Burt's Place re-opened Friday, less than a year after the passing of its founder Burt Katz.

The bearded legend Katz, founder of the original Pequod's, had been in the pizza-making business for more than 50 years before he closed Burt's Place in 2015.

Now his anointed successors, owners Jerry Petrow and John Munao, two former Chicago Board of Trade futures traders, have made made Burt's their first foray into the restaurant business.

Despite the addition of some new wines, a redecorated interior and a second oven, they intend to keep Burt's legacy intact. (The no credit card and notorious call-ahead policies have been loosened*.)

The menu remains the same, except for a few tweaks, such as removing XXL size and garlic bread, and adding a wide variety of beer (6 on tap, 10 types bottled) and improved selection of wine. Come springtime, the restaurant plans to have outdoor patio seating, beer garden-style.

"As far as the pizza goes, we're changing nothing," said Munao. "The recipe is one hundred percent the same, we're not changing a thing. We're doing it exactly the way Burt taught us."

Petrow and Munao met with Katz multiple times near the end of his life for the veteran pizza-master to share his method and to make sure it was up to his standards.

"Literally, what we're putting out there is exactly what Burt put out there," Munao explained.

He said the pair has made more than than hundred pizzas, receiving rave reviews from past customers and Katz family members who have tested and tasted their pies.

At Friday's opening, everyone on hand appeared to be enjoying eating the latest version of Burt's famous pizza, as local dignitaries fondly remembered anecdotes of Burt's lifetime.

Watch a clip from the 2009 segment on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations that spread Burt's Place to a worldwide audience.

*Several major credit cards are now accepted, and the restaurant will take reservations anytime as long as there's room and with takeout orders at any time.

2017 Photos: Jonah Meadows.