We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robert Maleski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robert below.
Robert, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I got started making pizza when I was furloughed from my job during the pandemic in 2020. I was sitting around the apartment and thought why not make pizza. So I started posting my creations to social media just for fun. I started to get DM asking if they could get a pizza. So I started making pizzas in my apartment and dropping them off to people front stoop. This led to me working out of a ghost kitchen in the Logan Square neighborhood out of Chicago. We were fortunate enough to receive a couple of write ups and received the pandemic pivot award from the Chicago Tribune that year. This gave me the confidence to open up my brick and mortar in the uptown neighborhood of Chicago. We have been open since 2021. We have received some press and lots of positive feed back since opening. We make a limited amount of pizzas per day and a majority of the time we sell out. We have had lots of support from the community and the neighborhood. It feels incredible to just be part of the pizza making scene in Chicago.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I was a waiter for 16 years and it was fun but I always knew I wanted to do something more. That’s when 2020 happened and it set my life in a new direction. Without 2020 I’m not sure that I would be doing what I am doing now.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
I put together my capital by selling my home and moving into an apartment. I took the money that I made from the sale and started working out of a ghost kitchen. Working in the ghost kitchen allowed low overhead cost and I was able to save up enough money in order to start my first brick and mortar with money that I had saved.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.millyspizzachi.com
- Instagram: @millys_pizza_in_the_pan
Image Credits
Jay Bennett, Will Grant