MOD Pizza brings artisan-style pies to Lake County

Pizzerias are a dime a dozen, and it takes a lot more than cheese and pepperoni to catch the eye of today’s hungry customer.

The fast and casual concept of Seattle-based MOD Pizza, which offers a "design-it-yourself" experience in which pizzas are made on-demand, has been thriving on the West Coast for six years. The company has expanded to include new locations throughout the Midwest. Restaurants are now open in Deerfield, Naperville, Elmhurst and Bloomingdale.

Kildeer and Vernon Hills are next.

“We’re excited to have this new business and we know people are excited. It’s a new way of eating pizza,” said Michael Talbett, Kildeer’s chief village officer.

MOD Pizza is scheduled to have a grand opening Dec. 11 at the Shops at Kildeer, 20505 N. Rand Road.

The Vernon Hills store will open in the former Blockbuster Video building at 701 N. Milwaukee Ave. in February, according to MOD Pizza construction manager David Zimmerman.

“We hope to get started with construction in the next couple weeks,” he said.

The Kildeer and Vernon Hills locations, which will hire 30 employees each, were chosen based on family demographic and how many businesses and offices were in the area. Each location will feature outdoor seating, though customers will obviously have to wait until spring to take advantage of that.

“We’re really hoping to hit home runs at both sites,” Zimmerman said, adding the Deerfield site “is a rock star.”

At MOD Pizza, customization rules.

“It’s different from any other pizza place out there. I would call it the Chipotle of pizza,” Zimmerman said.

Customers order their pizza at a counter, choosing from standard options or creating their own specialty pie from over 30 toppings, including five different sauces and six kinds of cheese.

The pizzas are available in three sizes—mini, mod and large, and the toppings are unlimited. For example, a mod-sized pizza will cost you $7.87 no matter how many toppings you want on it.

“If you want to go crazy, you can. If it looks good, put it on your pizza,” Zimmerman said. “It’s nice for families, because what kids want the same toppings on their pizza as their mom and dad?”

Once the order is placed, the pizza is cooked by hand, not on a conveyor belt, in a 750-degree, gas-fired, brick oven for about three minutes. Customers are called for pick-up when their order is ready.

“With everyone being so time-starved these days, that’s very important,” Zimmerman said of how quickly the pizza is cooked.

The menu also includes salads, Parmesan cheese and cinnamon strips, shakes, and beer and wine. Gluten-free crust is available and their products are all nut-free.

“It’s a very simple, straight forward menu and the atmosphere is fun, family-oriented and upbeat,” Zimmerman said.

In fact, the rock and roll music that pipes through the restaurants, from a 1,000-song playlist, is also streamed on MOD's website.

Delivery is a possibility down the road, Zimmerman said. Currently, none of the locations offer the service. According to the company, it was a conscious decision because they believe their pizza is best straight out of the oven. The restaurants do offer pick-up and online ordering.

In addition to the new Kildeer and Vernon Hills locations, a MOD Pizza is in the works for Glenview. The company is also looking to expand to the southern suburbs.

Visit www.modpizza.com for information.