A Name Above the Door: Milly's Pizza Founder Robert Maleski Is Opening Jake's Place on Western Avenue
By Socialhood News · North Center ·
North Center is about to get a new pizza spot with a personal story behind it — and one of Chicago's most recognized deep-dish operators is making a sharp left turn to deliver it.
Robert Maleski, the founder of Milly's Pizza in the Pan, is opening Jake's Place at 4159 N. Western Ave. in North Center, with a target launch date in early December. The restaurant takes over the former Armand's Pizzeria address, which closed last summer after a long run on Western Avenue. Jake's Place is named after Maleski's 1-year-old son — a detail that gives this opening a warmth that goes well beyond the usual neighborhood restaurant announcement.
For anyone who knows Milly's Pizza in the Pan, the new concept will come as a genuine surprise. Maleski built his name — and a loyal following across multiple Chicago neighborhoods — on caramelized, deep-dish pan pies. Jake's Place is, in his own words, going in the opposite direction entirely. The pizza at Jake's Place will be thin-crust, square-cut, and Chicago tavern-style, with a crust that Maleski describes as crispy and "as thin as a cracker." Thin-crust has always been his personal favorite style of pizza, he has said, and Jake's Place is his chance to make it his professional calling card as well.
Maleski founded Milly's Pizza in the Pan in 2020 as a ghost kitchen, then brought the concept to a brick-and-mortar location in Uptown in 2022. From there the brand expanded to Lakeview and West Town, building a track record as one of Chicago's more focused and consistent independent pizza operators. The North Center address represents something different in his portfolio — not just a new location, but a new style, a new name, and a new chapter.
The menu at Jake's Place will feature around six pizza options, including a giardiniera-and-sausage pie and a chili crunch and basil combination — flavors that balance classic Chicago sensibility with the kind of sharper, contemporary ingredient combinations that have become a signature of Chicago's current independent pizza scene. Maleski noted that the interior at 4159 N. Western won't require extensive renovation, since the former Armand's Pizzeria left behind a functioning kitchen and dining area. He's aiming for a December 1 opening, though early December remains the working target.
For North Center, the arrival of Jake's Place adds to an already lively stretch of the neighborhood's fall restaurant calendar. The Western Avenue address sits at the heart of the Northcenter commercial corridor, walkable from the Brown Line's Irving Park and Montrose stations. The space has pizzeria bones from its Armand's days, which means neighbors already know where to go for a slice — they'll just be getting a very different kind when Jake's opens its doors.
The new courts at Horner Park also made news this week as another neighborhood improvement worth noting. Block Club Chicago reported on October 16 that freshly installed courts at Horner Park have been drawing players, even as the community has flagged that the new hoops aren't regulation height — a detail that the Chicago Park District will likely be hearing more about from competitive players in the weeks ahead. Still, the new courts represent a physical upgrade to one of North Center's most-used green spaces, and the community response has been energetic.
For pizza lovers, Jake's Place at 4159 N. Western Ave. is worth putting on your December radar. Follow Milly's Pizza in the Pan on social media for updates on the opening date as Maleski and his team finalize the buildout. If the track record from his previous locations is any guide, expect a line when the doors open — and expect the cracker-thin crust to win over a neighborhood that has never been shy about its pizza opinions.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/16/millys-pizza-in-the-pan-owner-opening-jakes-place-a-thin-crust-spot-in-north-center/
2. https://whatnow.com/chicago/restaurants/millys-pizza-owner-preparing-jakes-place-concept-in-north-center/
3. https://blockclubchicago.org/lincoln-square-north-center-irving-park/