July 4th, 2008 -  Pizza Delivery: The History

By Ames Boykin | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/24/2008

Elk Grove Village resident Mark Evans is feeling the deep-dish love.

Forget the 300 Lou Malnati's pizzas that the Air Force veteran wanted to send to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for a Fourth of July event.

Try 3,000.

After a Daily Herald story about the "Pizzas 4 Patriots" idea he hatched with his 16-year-old son Kent, Evans has received an outpouring of interest from people who want to help.

Soldiers will get a taste of Chicago As of Tuesday, he was on track to send 3,000 of his favorite Chicago-style pizzas to the Middle East.

A die-hard Lou Malnati's fan who even convinced Caroline Kennedy to try his favorite pizza at a book signing last year in Chicago, Evans says he wants the soldiers to have a slice of home for the holiday.

"I think it's good for them. They're in too good of shape," he joked.

All the attention and interest has floored Evans but he understands why.

"I just think people want to help but they just don't know where to go," Evans said.

He's also fielded numerous interview requests from various media outlets.

And politicians are getting involved, too. He's heard from the camps of both presumptive presidential nominees, Illinois Democrat Barack Obama and Arizona Republican John McCain.

Evans worked with the pizzeria and DHL Global, which volunteered to ship as many of the frozen pizzas as Evans raises money to send.

Anyone interested in helping with the pizza drive can contact Evans at sgtevans@sbcglobal.net.

While this is an unusually large order, the pizzeria is ready.

Lou Malnati's has at least 6,500 of its pizzas stocked for mail orders. Each year, it ships 250,000 pizzas around the country from a plant on the South Side of Chicago.

More pizzas might have to be made early next week before they ship out for the Fourth of July party.

"It's saying 'here's a taste of home,' " Lou Malnati's spokeswoman Mindy Kaplan said.

But she concedes there might be some soldiers who won't feel that way.

"Maybe New Yorkers won't like it so much," Kaplan said.

Elk Grove Village man sending pizzas to troops
By Ames Boykin | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/24/2008 12:05 AM

Mark Evans and his son, Kent, put their heads together to start a fundraising drive to send 300 Lou Malnati's pizzas to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

When his 16-year-old son asked if U.S. soldiers serving in the Middle East had Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza, Elk Grove Village resident Mark Evans knew what he had to do.

Their conversation, of course, was over some slices of the flaky, buttery-crusted Chicago pizza that the Evans family loves to indulge in.

Evans, a retired Air Force master sergeant, had sent 50 of his favorite Chicago-style pizzas to troops in Bosnia in the 1990s.

Evans' son Kent hoped to extend the same Chicago deep-dish hospitality to those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"You can't get Chicago food there," Mark Evans said.

Although retired from the military, Mark Evans' heart is still in the service. His 22-year-old daughter, Melissa, is attending the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

He e-mailed Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, who replied eight hours later.

"Again, many thanks! Nothing's more important to our troopers, as you know, than the support of those at home," Petraeus wrote in a June 9 e-mail to Mark Evans.

As of Monday, Mark Evans already had lined up the money to send 300 pizzas for a Fourth of July re-enlistment ceremony. That was his original goal, but now he hopes to push that number up to 600 pizzas.

Transport was a major concern, but DHL Global volunteered to donate its services to ship the pizzas.

They will be frozen and packed in dry ice before heading to the Middle East.

Sally Glunz, director of mail order for Lou Malnati's, said the restaurant is pleased to have been able to offer the pizzas at a special rate for the troops.

"We're so honored that they'll be eating it on the Fourth of July," Glunz said.

Anyone interested in contributing to the "Pizzas 4 Patriots" project can write Mark Evans at sgtevans@sbcglobal.net.

With the time difference, Mark Evans over his breakfast plans to picture the soldiers enjoying their pizza.

"When you're drinking your coffee on the Fourth of July, those guys will be eating their Lou Malnati's pizza," Mark Evans said. "That'd be kind of a nice feeling, don't you think?"