U.S. Pizza Museum Unveils New Exhibits in Chicago

Roosevelt Collection, the mixed-use lifestyle center in Chicago’s South Loop, announced the official grand re-opening and new exhibits at the U.S. Pizza Museum. Open on Fridays from 1-8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., the museum features Founder Kendall Bruns’ personal collection of pizza-themed memorabilia in exhibits on the history of pizza in America (including New York, Chicago, and other prominent pizza cities). The museum will maintain regular hours throughout the renovation. The remodel and brand-new exhibits will be launching Friday, May 31 with an opening reception on Saturday, June 1 at 12:30 p.m. featuring a presentation by Bruns with free pizza, while supplies last. Tickets to the museum can be reserved here: uspizzamuseum.com/tickets.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue supporting the U.S. Pizza Museum at Roosevelt Collection,” says Shannon Ridgeway, General Manager of Roosevelt Collection Shops. “One of our center’s core values is bringing both visitors and Chicago locals together, and the remodeled space plus additional exhibits at the U.S. Pizza Museum continue to achieve that in new and exciting ways.”

The museum has been remodeled and reimagined to better tell stories about how pizza became America’s favorite food. New items on display include vintage pizzeria menus and advertisements, a 10 foot tall Pizzeria Due sign that hung outside the restaurant in the 1980s, a Pizza Hut Electric Baking Oven from 1975 that allowed children to make pizza at home, and Forever Pizza, a real slice of pizza preserved in acrylic by artist Steph Mantis.

U.S. Pizza Museum Founder and Director Kendall Bruns says, “We’ll have more on display than ever before and there will be more context to understand what you’re looking at. For example, along with the Pizzeria Due sign we also have blueprints and photos of the sign when it was outside the pizzeria. It’s part of an exhibit that explores the origins of Pizzeria Uno and Due including key figures that sometimes get overlooked like Ric Riccardo and Alice Mae Redmond.”

In addition to over 100 new items on display, improvements to the space include movable exhibition walls, a larger projection screen, and higher capacity.