Larry Aronson, a 50-year resident of Glencoe, is the retired owner of the My Pi pizza chain that once had as many as 24 nationwide locations (he said he also owned three other restaurants). Today, My Pi has one spot in Chicago run by Aronson’s son. Larry Aronson was also a member of the New York Stock Exchange, he said.
Q: How did you get involved in the pizza business?
A: I used to invite people over to the house for dinner. They started calling and asking me to come over for dinner, and I realized we should open a restaurant. We opened our first place on Sheridan Road near Loyola University and we had a line out the door the first day, and from there it was a success.
Q: How did you come up with the distinctive My Pi name?
A: The name came from the fact that it was opened across the street from Loyola University, and I thought they would know the double meaning on pie.
Q: What was the highlight of your ownership?
A: When we opened a pizza factory in Moscow in 1995 and we manufactured the cheese and sausage in the Russian capital.
Q: What do you miss about the pizza business?
A: The pizza business is a tough business. Not a lot to miss. I miss the brokerage business, it was a great business to be in. Every day was very exciting. It wasn’t the same business it is now.
Q: What is your favorite type of pizza?
A: One with sausage and pepperoni.
Q: If someone came up to today with an MBA and asked if they should go into the brokerage business or the pizza business, where would you direct them?
A: I’d tell them to go into a business they had some excitement for. But both were good to us.
Q: How often do you eat pizza nowadays?
A: Every week, we have Friday night dinner with our whole family and our son brings pizza.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
