Some people hate Mexican food. Can't stand the stuff. But when Ike Sewell's restaurant partner gagged on his first Tex-Mex meal, the rejection paid off in a big way. When the tall Texan turned to Plan B, he ended up creating Chicago deep-dish pizza.After graduating from UT in 1928, the all-conference lineman from Wills Point, near Dallas, went to work for American Airlines, then got into the liquor business after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Relocating in Chicago to head the midwest division of Fleischman's Distillers, Sewell pined for the food of his college years at such restaurants as El Pablano Cafe on Congress and New Way Cafe on W. 5th and had plans to open the Windy City's first Mexican restaurant. He brought the concept to Ric Riccardo, whose namesake drinking hole on Rush Street was one of Sewell's best customers.Riccardo agreed to invest, but first he wanted to sample the kind of cuisine that Sewell had in mind. The chef cooked up a plate of beef enchiladas, refried beans and rice. Riccardo took one bite and claimed it was the worst food he had ever tasted. He wouldn't feed it to a dog, he said. Even though the walls were freshly decorated with bullfighters and the grand opening was mere weeks away, Riccardo said he'd pull out of the venture if Sewell insisted on serving Mexican food on Wabash Ave.
At the time, pizza was becoming popular with returning GIs, who'd tasted it in Italy, so Riccardo suggested he and Sewell open up a pizzeria instead. But Sewell had deep thoughts about designing a heartier style of pizza — one that would load the dough with meat, tomatoes and cheese. Pizzeria Uno's casserole with a crust was an instant sensation and Sewell and Riccardo opened Pizzeria Due a block away in 1955.
Sewell did eventually realize his dream of owning a Mexican restaurant in Chicago. In 1963 he opened Su Casa, without a partner, next door to Pizzeria Due, where it continues to thrive.
