In The News

Is tavern-style pizza falling into the same category as deep dish? In recent years, Chicagoans have raged that deep-dish pizza isn't what real locals eat. The infatuation with stuffed, deep dish, pan, etc. comes from clever marketing and outside media who fumble when trying to pigeonhole the biggest city in the Midwest.

Owner Pat Fowler walks us through the history of the restaurant and its flashing sign.

It's impossible to miss the big neon sign on Western Avenue just south of Evanston that is always wishing someone a happy birthday or anniversary. Established in 1950 by Italian immigrants, Candlelite Chicago was once a dark, dingy dive bar that somehow also doubled as a romantic destination for a couple's night out.

Italian immigrants Frank and Lena Maiale, the original owners of Candlelite Chicago, opened the doors of their tavern-style pizzeria in 1950, serving up thin-crust pies and libations to neighborhood locals.

The northernmost pizzeria in the city of Chicago, Candlelite has been a neighborhood fave for tavern-style pizza since 1950.

There's no doubt that the restaurant industry has been hit devastatingly hard by COVID-19. While Chicago recently moved into Phase 4 of dining restrictions, the road to recovery remains long.

On the recommendation of a buddy of mine at one of my dealers in the Chicago area, he told me to head over to the Candlelite, a long-time neighborhood bar/restaurant located on N. Western Ave. in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the city's far north side.

The neon sign will grab you first, especially at night, when it shines like a welcoming beacon on an otherwise drab stretch of Western Avenue near Evanston: the endearing spelling of its name (Candlelite), the martini glass (with olive), the space in which to announce birthdays, anniversaries and other personal celebrations and events.