According to Yahoo.News.com, “In Chicago, deep-dish pizza ranks supreme and it’s an often a staple in many households across the metropolitan area. However, a major player and pioneer in the deep-dish pizza empire in the Windy City has announced it is filing for bankruptcy. Giordano’s pizza chain officially announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to obtain legal protection from their creditors.”

“There are 43 Giordano’s Pizzerias within Chicago and the metropolitan area and Giordano’s pizza has continuously been listed as some of the best Chicago deep-dish pizza. The franchise, owned by the Apostolou family, has even spread to central and northern Florida, including Tampa, Kissimmee and Port Richey. The company revealed it had to default on loans with Fifth Third Bank on Jan. 1 due to its inability to rent or sell several commercial properties in both Florida and Illinois. Giordano’s has asserted the recent bankruptcy filing is about the bad real estate market and has nothing to do the pizza. But still, the future of the Giordano’s pizza seems a bit uncertain.”

“The news from Giordano’s came as a surprise to many city and suburban residents, but many are standing behind their favorite deep-dish pizza restaurant. Bob Vaughn, a 57-year-old Chicago native, said, “I’ve been eating at Giordano’s for 20 years now and have been to many of their restaurants in the area. They’re always packed for lunch and always busy with delivery. The news was shocking since Giordano’s is one of the big three Chicago pizza chains. It would be really disappointing if they started closing locations; it’d be like losing a piece of Chicago.’ Debbie Kraus, a North Shore resident, stated, ‘I moved to Chicago in 2002 from New York City with my family and we were hooked. Before then it was always New York-style pizza but we converted within a week. Now we dine at Giordano’s or get take out a few times a month. We’ve tried Lou Malnati’s and Gino’s East, but they don’t compare. It’s sad to see one of your favorite places get hit by the bad real estate market and the only thing we can do is keep supporting them with our business.'”