Palooza Pizza opens in Schaumburg at former Firehouse Dogs location
Though its building upgrade took longer than expected, Palooza Pizza has met its goal of opening in 2023 on the former site of Firehouse Dogs in Schaumburg.
Experienced restaurateur Gamal Badier’s new venture features an eclectic menu with not only a variety of pizza styles but also hot dogs, burgers, Philly steaks, gyros, wings, chicken tenders, chili, hummus, falafel sandwiches, soups and salads.
Desserts include flan, carrot cake and baklava.
The renovated 2,865-square-foot restaurant at 1820 W. Irving Park Road celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday. It’s now open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Badier announced his plans at the beginning of the year as he sought a new special-use permit to operate a restaurant after the building’s previous one had expired after a year of vacancy.
His initial hope was to open in the spring, but supply-chain issues slowed many construction and renovation projects in recent years.
The owners of Firehouse Dogs — who won Travel + Leisure magazine’s designation as the best hot dog in Illinois in 2018 — shut down in November 2021 after more than five years in business following a dispute with the landlord over rent.
Badier bypassed that concern by buying the building outright from its previous owner.
Though Firehouse Dogs’ owners said they hoped to move to another location nearby, that never materialized.