The chain that made barbecue chicken pizza a mall-era staple is betting its next act on a wider idea: CPK wherever people eat, from hearth ovens to grocery aisles and vending machines.
Lou Malnati's has spent 55 years turning one stubbornly local recipe into restaurants, delivery kitchens and a nationwide cold-chain business. Its next challenge is expansion without sanding away the family ritual that made the pizza travel in the first place.