Luconi’s Pizza back in business

BRADLEY — Driving past the closed Luconi’s Pizza restaurant along Kennedy Drive was more than Rory Hertzberg could take.

A longtime go-to pizzeria for Hertzberg and his friends, the 43-year-old Limestone resident could not stand the sight of the local institution being shuttered.

He also couldn’t imagine someone taking over its operation and making and selling pizzas which would fail to live up to the Luconi’s longstanding standards of excellence.

So after convincing his father, Howard, 66, to re-enter the world of pizza making — the family had operated a Rosati franchise in Chicago and the Pizza Pan in Bourbonnais — the duo are now the proprietors of the site at 496 Kennedy Drive.

After conducting several days of test runs to make sure the site was up and running as smoothly as possible, the owners are open and ready for business as of today.

Luconi’s Old World Pizza and Sandwiches is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. As of now, the location will be closed on Sunday, but that is not yet set in stone. The owners said it is their intention to be open on Sundays when the football season arrives.

Having signed a two-year lease in 2024, the intension was to be taking order and cooking pizzas and Italian beef sandwiches in the fall.

However, once they began to sink their teeth into getting the restaurant ready, there were many more upgrades needed than anticipated.

Delays, rather than pizza, became the order of the day. The August purchase followed by a sought-after October opening became only a wish.

A new cement floor was placed inside the 1,200-square-foot restaurant. The interior was painted. The seating was expanded as two counter areas with seating were added.

Electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning work were also completed.

In all, the location had been closed for about eight months from the previous owner ended his operation. Then there was another seven months of down time as the Hertzberg father-and-son team worked their way through needed upgrades necessary to operate the business.

Bradley Mayor Mike Watson said he is delighted to see the location back in business and he said Luconi’s is a favorite of several village employees.

“I’m happy to see this business reopened. We are pleased with what has taken place there,” he said.

Father and son

Rory stressed he will not be operating the business on daily basis. He will continue his work as a Realtor, an occupation he’s has been in for about 10 years.

He said the business will be put into the capable hands of his father and the assembled part-time staff of 10.

Luconi’s has long been a Kennedy staple as it sits immediately south of a Taco John’s restaurant.

The location had been under the direction of owner-operator Kevin Malik for 21 years before he sold it on March 31, 2022, to Ramiro “Junior” Andrade.

Andrade ended up operating it only for a short time, having the misfortune of attempting to run the business through much of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Howard joked that Rory “pulled him out of retirement,” after having operated a home security company, to open their latest pizza restaurant.

He said Rory invited him for breakfast at Blue’s Cafe in Kankakee. He delivered his pitch.

“He said he wanted to give the community a pizza restaurant it deserves,” he said.

Rory, now seated a Luconi’s dining table, smiled and agreed.

“My heart was in this. I couldn’t let it go. We have the means to bring back,” he said before adding. “More means that I thought it needed.”

He said they are using the same dough and same sauce recipes. They make their own sausage. They also said the Italian beef is perfectly aged.

Operating their first independent pizzeria allows them the opportunity to do things the way they believe work best. That freedom means that corners are not cut.

“We are having fun,” Rory said. “We bought this for the community. This is not about me. Real estate is still my 100% passion.”

Part of that passion comes from a card he carries with him at all times. It comes from his grandfather. It reads: “First A Servant. Then A Leader.”

“I’ve been carrying this card in wallet since 2013. I try to live by these words,” Rory said.

He then recalls the days of stopping at Luconi’s with his friends and enjoying the pizza and the conversation. Never did he think one day he would be the man in charge.

“I didn’t see this at all,” Rory said. “It was an opportunity we had to seize. If we didn’t step in, there would be no Luconi’s.”

In other words, that was a situation he could not allow.