Write Pie Hole and tell its owner to fight to stay in business!
Some of you may remember us talking about Pie Hole Pizza Joint here in Chicago — it is one of our favorite restaurants. More than that, it’s one of our favorite spots in Boystown because it’s just so damn interesting. We have had more adventures here than we can recount. A great many stories we’ve told you about Boystown either happened at Pie Hole, on the way to Pie Hole, or coming back from Pie Hole. After a night out at Sidetracks or Roscoe’s or Scarlet, we grab a slice of Sausage and Marshmallow After School Special Pizza and digest all the odd, wonderful, and surreal things we’ve seen in a night. It is our Peach Pit, our Big Al’s, our Edna’s Edibles, our Hogshead Tavern.
During the campaigns, we got Pie Hole pizza for many of the phone banks we ran out of Buzzquarters. We’ve all had more than a few dates involving Pie Hole delivery, cherry wheat Sam Adams, and further details Danielle Steele would blush to recount here.
We told you that Pie Hole recently lost their lease at their current location at Roscoe and Halsted here in Boystown: the bar Cocktail, their neighbor, is going to be taking over their space as of May 2010.
Tonight we learned the owner of Pie Hole, Doug Brandt, is feeling overwhelmed by the situation and does not know what to do. He’s intimidated by the thought of having to start all over, rebuild his business, negotiate a new lease, and open a new Pie Hole in Boystown once he’s forced to close his current location. The City of Chicago is a pain in the you-know-what (ass) to deal with…and the Alderman in charge of Boystown is, in our opinion, not good for very much (double ass). Getting anything done in this town for a small business is as difficult as brain surgery, when it shouldn’t be.
We aren’t friends with Doug Brandt, but know him in passing. He is a nice, nice guy. We aren’t friends with any of his cast members at Pie Hole, but know them in passing, too, from our years of patronizing this place. They are, to a person, GREAT. There are about 15-20 people who depend on Doug for their livelihood through Pie Hole…all of them are interesting, engaging, and entertaining. They are part of the heart and soul of Boystown, so the thought of this place closing breaks our own hearts. We do not want to see any of these people out of work, and we do not want to see this awesome business closed down.
Listen, when we were growing up in the 80s, there were always Christmas specials on about some grinch coming to town and ruining Christmas, stealing all the presents, or unzipping and pissing all over the holiday meal. Whether it was Pac-Man, Jem, Charlie Brown, or the Thundercats, all of these oddball characters came together to do whatever they could to set things right at Christmas. They did whatever they could, even if it was just the Care Bears, who basically stared at things or gave them hugs. But, hugs they gave, and they took a stand for what was good and just in the face of the negativity and bad tidings headed towards people they cared about during the holidays. And they were ridiculous bears with giant stickers on their tummies. And even they got off their butts and pitched in when they were needed.
We’ve been told Doug Brandt doesn’t really have any idea how much Pie Hole means to Boystown.
He has no clue how special and, dare we say, magical his restaurant is.
Well, we’ve been telling you about this place since our site was founded. We love this place. Every month we wait with baited breath to find out what his new special pizza will be, like Thanksgiving pizza (Thanksgiving dinner, essentially, in a pie) or his latest creation, Christmas pizza (ham, BBQ sauce, sweet potatoes, marshmallows, cinnamon, and a five-cheese blend). We love his cast members…think his “All You Can Shove” Wednesday pizza and soda special is the best deal in town…and think no night in Boystown is complete without at least one slice of pizza at Pie Hole once the bars close and all the freaks are set loose onto Halsted.
If you have enjoyed reading our stories of Boystown, we need your help.
BOYSTOWN needs your help – you need to write to Doug Brandt and let him know he is loved…let him know Pie Hole is loved….let him know you can’t imagine Boystown without this business in operation.
We need you to write to him and encourage him to tough it out and find a new lease, to start this business over. Tell him he needs to fight, so that one day when you come to Chicago you can experience Boystown and have a slice of Sausage and Marshmallow After School Special pizza for yourself.
There’s a small business employing a dozen or so people that could just disappear if its owner doesn’t feel it’s worth fighting for. From what we hear, the guy’s feeling daunted by the paperwork, the city red tape, and all the grief that goes into starting over when losing a lease.
Doug Brandt needs some encouragement.
So, can you send some his way? Can you, today, stand up and in a loud voice do a solid for the side of good? Can you help save Christmas…by helping to save the jobs of many good people, and save a part of Boystown that would disappear forever unless Doug Brandt is inspired to save it?
Yes — it’s just pizza. Yes — there’s always I=Hop, open 24 hours, where adventures can play out late at night. Ye s- his cast could try to find other jobs. But, Boystown won’t be the same without this place. In August, another favorite restaurant of ours, Minnie’s, closed and we didn’t find out about it until months later. We were asleep at our post, and didn’t do anything to save those jobs, and save a place we loved.
Well, we are not about to let Pie Hole fade quietly into the night without a fight.
PLEASE, send Doug Brandt an email…send him a post card…write him a letter…tell him that you heard about his lease situation, and you want him to know that so many people in Chicago love his business and want him to set up shop somewhere nearby. Tell him you know there are several empty storefronts on Halsted…the Wally & Agador’s closed sandwich shop, the Ragin’ Jean’s closed souvenir shop, and the abandoned video store next to the club Hydrate. Any of these places would be great for Pie Hole. Tell Doug that you have friends that talk and talk and talk about how creative, fun, and innovative this place is — and how the guys in Boystown just love Pie Hole. Tell Doug he needs to fight for this place, and fight to remain part of the heart and soul of Boystown.
As we said, if you’ve enjoyed hearing our stories from Boystown, today we ask you to do something to help save an important part of Boystown. Pie Hole won’t exist much longer unless you do something to help convince Doug Brandt to fight for it. This good man needs some encouragement. He needs that scene at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life where everyone in town comes rushing in to tell him how much they love him, and telegrams pour in from all over the world saying how much people want him to succeed.
Can you help create this Christmas miracle?
We would be forever grateful if you do…and know you’re guaranteeing yourselves an unlimited amount of fun Boystown stories in the future, because there is just no place better for adventure than a pizza shop open late dishing up Sausage and Marshmallow After School specials, and all the wild times we can handle.
CONTACT:
Doug Brandt, Owner
Pie Hole Pizza Joint
737 W Roscoe
Chicago, IL 60657
info@pieholepizzajoint.com
Help save Pie Hole!
December 17, 2009 at 2:47 am
My family’s business is built on land leased from the State. The state staff tried to take the land back with plans to literally demolish everything my family has built.
We did two things:
1) We implored our customers to contact everyone who had power. That included the state staffers responsible for the plan, the commission that oversees the department, our local representatives, and the chamber of commerce. One representative said this was “the single largest public response I’ve ever seen”.
2) We hired a good lawyer.
It all worked out in the end. My family secured a long lease (almost 50 years) while other similar businesses built on similar leased land could only get 10 years max, and many were closed down.
December 17, 2009 at 11:10 am
Number 2 is just what I was about to recommend. It sounds like Doug Horton could really use a good real estate lawyer to help him negotiate a good lease, deal with the red tape and paperwork and get them into a new space and up and running. He is an entrpreneur and restauranteur – he needs to hire somebody else to solve the the other issues, so he can concentrate on his special vocation. I think the investment in professional expertise will be very worthwhile here.
I did just a little web searching and came up with at least one Chicago law firm with a real estate practice that represents tenants in negotiating commercial leases. I will send the info to Mr. Horton’s email address today.
December 17, 2009 at 5:17 am
Hey HB!!
Remember the Russian 11th dimension chess post you guys had mentioned concerning Climategatre
Looks like you were Correct….
(got this from patriotroom.com)
“Climategate goes SERIAL: now the Russians confirm that UK climate scientists manipulated data to exaggerate global warming ”
http://patriotroom.com/article/externalClicked/8656
December 17, 2009 at 5:19 am
from the article above:
“Paging Al Gore: “Climategate just got much, much bigger. And all thanks to the Russians who, with perfect timing, dropped this bombshell just as the world’s leaders are gathering in Copenhagen to discuss ways of carbon-taxing us all back to the dark ages.”"
December 17, 2009 at 11:13 am
It makes me smile inside.
December 17, 2009 at 5:24 am
gotta love the Russians playing 11th dimension chess..
they dropped all this this info right before all the losers are comning to attend this nonsense climage “change” crap
from Ace’s site:
http://ace.mu.nu/
“Russians bomb CRU and climate conference with “inconvenient truths:” Claim CRU Falsified Data Reported from Russian Meterological Stations”
December 17, 2009 at 5:42 am
Just sent a paypal gift for you guys to pick up a Pie hole pizza, so enjoy & have one on me. Please tell Doug Horton that terrirobin is expecting to have a slice of pizza one day when she can get to Chicago. Thanks guys for all you do, all the time.
December 17, 2009 at 6:57 am
Look for a postcard from me…
And you guys take Paypal (Hillbuzz that is?)
Merry Christmas!
KP
December 17, 2009 at 7:13 am
Some suggestions:
1. The people who own those unleased properties are probably desperate for tenants, and would probably be willing to help Doug negotiate the red tape to move and lease their property.
2. Someone you guys know must know someone important at city hall. Get that person involved.
3. Why is the Cocktail place getting the lease? Do THEY know someone? If they do, who? That person should help Doug move as a good will gesture, so that you guys will patronize the Cocktail place, which you will NOT do if they are not helpful to Doug.
I will send a card, although how much encouragement a gal from Indiana can give I don’t know. I will do my best.
December 17, 2009 at 9:55 am
Here’s my email note I just sent:
Dear Mr. Horton …. I hear that you run a wonderful establishment in Boystown that is legendary. I’m so sorry to hear that you are being forced to relocate and deal with a new lease situation. I get my information from Hillbuzz.org, a wonderful political website. These Pie Hole patrons are broken-hearted that you might be closing down for good. They asked their readers to offer support and encouragement for you to find a new location.
They recommended several empty storefronts on Halsted.
I don’t live in Chicago, but I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts. As I was growing up, my parents ran a successful flower shop. About five years into business, they were forced to relocate, when their lease expired. However, this gave them the opportunity to create an even stronger business. They had to remodel a building to suit their needs, but, in the end, this turned out to give them much more room for growth.
Here’s wishing you the best. If I’m ever in Chicago again, I hope to sample your Sausage and Marshmallow After School specials.
Keep up the fight!
And also, Merry Christmas!
Nicole Coulter
Andover, Kansas
December 17, 2009 at 9:59 am
Forwarded to my sweetie, who is in Chicago (Skokie).
He will enter my two cents worth.
December 17, 2009 at 11:15 am
Is that the correct email? It’s saying contact error when I tried to send a message.
December 17, 2009 at 11:18 am
That’s really weird. The email works for us. We got the contact info off Pie Hole’s site:
http://www.pieholepizzajoint.com/
December 17, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I had an extra period. I just sent a message. Hope it does some good.
December 17, 2009 at 11:28 am
E-mail sent. Hoping Mr. Horton will get a second wind of encouragement. You guys are the BEST friends anyone could have. Bless you!
December 17, 2009 at 11:31 am
Another sad note:
Standee’s on Granville in Edgewater is closing. The building owner wants to put fine dining in there. (We’ll see . . .) I talked to a waitress there about it–and, yes, I said waitress–that’s what she calls herself. She told me Standee’s will reopen accross the street in February. (Again, we’ll see . . .)
Standee’s. Not the greatest food in the city, it’s a diner, but it beats the tar out of Golden Nugget, and open 24 hours. Been around for decades, and the characters coming in and out always put on a good floor show.
I shall miss it.
December 17, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Pie Hole: perhaps appeal to Cocktail’s sense of good-neighborliness. And then threaten boycotts, if warranted.
December 18, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I live right around the corner from Pie Hole, and I love this place! In addition to having great pies, Doug and Co. are a real asset to our community. They do a lot of work with some of the disenfranchised young gay men and women in and around the area (poetry nights, clothing drives, etc). They have a safe haven there where they can be creative and feel safe, which is so important. I am very hopeful that Doug and Co. will be able to find another spot close-by OR not have to move at all!
If you are in the Chicago area, please do yourself a favor and check out this one of a kind pizza place!