Issac Sewell (September 9, 1903 – August 20, 1990) was an American athlete, businessman, entrepreneur, and founder of the Uno Chicago Grill restaurant chain that originated in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, as well as founder of the Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due restaurants there in 1943 and 1955, respectively. Sewell started as an All- Southwestern Conference guard as a player on the Texas Longhorn football teams from 1926 to 1929.

Biography

Early life and career

Sewell was born in Wills Point, Texas, 50 miles east of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and grew up in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. A graduate of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, Sewell achieved both All-Southwest Conference (SWC) and All-American honors as a guard on the Longhorn football squad.

Pizzeria Uno and Su Casa restaurants

In 1943 Sewell opened Pizzeria Uno restaurant at the corner of Ohio Street and Wabash Avenue in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, offering the first Chicago deep dish pizza. He had originally intended to open a Mexican restaurant. Ric Riccardo and Sewell would eventually expand and open up another restaurant, Pizzeria Duo, just a block away from Pizzeria Uno, in 1955. Sewell would also open up the Chicago area's first upscale

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...

restaurant, Su Casa, in 1963.

Death

Just 20 days before his 87th birthday, Sewell died in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on August 20, 1990, after suffering from a lengthy bout with leukemia for several years. He was survived by his wife Florence Davis as well as his children and several grandchildren.Ike Sewell, 87; Developed Thick-Crust Pizza, Dubbed It Chicago-Style, (obituary), LA Times, 8-27-1990, accessed 9-20-2010.
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Ike 1903 births 1990 deaths Fast-food chain founders American restaurateurs Texas Longhorns football players Businesspeople from Dallas Businesspeople from San Antonio People from Wills Point, Texas Deaths from leukemia in Illinois 20th-century American businesspeople