Category Archives: Windy City Blog

Windy City Blog

After 30+ years, Windy City Pizza & BBQ has closed its doors.

Sadly, after 2½ years of dealing with Covid and several other challenges, closing our business is the best option for us. Trish and I are long overdue for retirement! We have taken care of our
great employees and are now helping them seek new positions elsewhere.

For over 30 years we have got to know and serve our many customers, most of whom have become like family to us. We have watched kids grow up, go off to college and return to the area to become adult customers with families of their own. We’ve had sports teams, birthday parties, pre-wedding parties all come to join in the fun at Windy City. We have been very blessed.

Serving everyone in our local community has been a blast! We remember all of you and all of you will be missed. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the opportunity to get to know
and serve each of you and for your continued support of our little pizza joint.

We wish you a joyful Holiday Season and, happily, know that we can expect to see many of you in the area as we continue to live locally.

With all our love and sincere thanks for your loyalty and support these many years.

Bob & Trish Yeats

Windy City Blog

Monday 11/6 10:00AM – Game 9: Chicago Bears vs Dallas Cowboys

From Ronnie:

Hello Bears Fans!

Well if that loss against Dallas wasn’t bad enough I just got an alert that Roquan Smith was traded to the Ravens. Mondays are great when we win but when we lose and then this news, well that just hurts. I understand the business side and the money but damn, he was a great player. Big shoes to fill and now we will see rookies Jack Sanborn and Sterling Weatherford try to fill the void and get their shot to prove they belong in the NFL. Our Bears are back home this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and our Offense is starting to put points on the scoreboard. Our defense is gonna be the deciding factor in this game. We need them to just play their best football and we will have a shot. It’s gonna be a challenge going against Miami Receivers Hill and Waddle, time for our rookies Brisker and Gordon to step up. Game time is 10:00AM so come on down to Windy City Pizza, home of the Bay Area Bears Fan Club and cheer on our Bears.
Continue reading Monday 11/6 10:00AM – Game 9: Chicago Bears vs Dallas Cowboys →

Windy City Blog

A Simple Way to Support Your Local Pizza & BBQ Restaurant

pizza delivery in san mateo

Did you know that the way you order your pizza delivery in San Mateo matters?

As a customer you probably don’t know that 3rd party delivery services like UberEats, Slice, DoorDash, and GrubHub all charge fees to businesses like ours for your orders. While the cost is not passed onto you, the consumer, our neighborhood pizza and BBQ restaurant must take from our own profits to have your orders delivered by a 3rd party.

Thankfully there’s a simple solution! If you live nearby and are ordering delivery or you are ordering for pickup we’d love it if you ordered either by phone or from our own in-house ordering system available here: https://windycitypizza.hungerrush.com/ or 650-578-1942.

As we continue to face challenges with the supply chain and work tirelessly to provide our customers with the same great Chicago deep dish pizza and Texas style pit-smoked BBQ in the Bay Area we need all the support we can get. We appreciate our customers’ patronage throughout the pandemic and continue to ask for your support as we recover from CoVID-19 supply shortages.

Consider Ordering Directly From Windy City Pizza and BBQ Restaurant in San Mateo

Help us serve you better and also support your local pizza and BBQ restaurant by helping us to avoid the costs of doing business with 3rd party delivery services.

What is there to lose?  Place your order with us today – order online for delivery or pickup.

 

Windy City Blog

Events Happening at Your Favorite Restaurant Due to Covid… That You Probably Did Not Know About

bbq restaurant in san mateo

How Has CoVID  Impacted Your Favorite Pizza and BBQ Restaurant in San Mateo?

I noticed a YELP review a few days ago where a customer stated she was not returning to a favorite restaurant in San Mateo because something had changed. This caught my attention as – for the last several months – Windy City has been unable to find the regular size portion cups for our BBQ side dishes… among other items. Prior to that, we were unable to source the lids for our portion cups. For over a year, there has been a shortage of pizza boxes and frequently our 2” deep box – absolutely necessary for our bigger, deeper pies – have been unavailable for weeks at a time. Meat, poultry, pepperoni, salami and cheese prices are through the roof. This past year, Beef prices increased 125%, Poultry 55%, Pork 16%, Soy Oil 110%. And Pizza boxes 35%.

We cannot source apple cider vinegar and our cooking oil runs anywhere from $36 to $75/box, depending on the supply chain. Availability of kegs and bottles of beer is totally random, week to week.

Our “Chicago’s Famous Eli’s Cheesecake” has not been available for two months! Paper goods, utilities and wages have all seen a dramatic price increase, plus many restaurants, including our pizza and BBQ restaurant in San Mateo, are coping with acute staff shortages, both back and front-of-house. So… if something seems out of the ordinary, please ask why! As has been well documented, more than 100,000 restaurants have already permanently closed throughout our country.

We need – and sincerely ask for – our customers’ continuing support, patience and understanding as our industry deals with unprecedented issues not seen in a generation. It’s easy to write a negative review, what’s not easy in these tough times is being able to find everything needed to keep Windy City Pizza & BBQ open.

Bob Yeats (owner)

Order the Best Pizza and BBQ in San Mateo

Bears Club, Windy City Blog

Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club 2021 Season Update

An Update to our Chicago Bears Fan Club Members from Trish and Bob

Dear Bears Fans;
All of us on the Windy City team hope you are all staying safe in these tough times.

Since the beginning of 2021, we’ve been looking forward to the upcoming NFL and Chicago Bears season and planning with great delight to see all our BEARS fans at the club at the beginning of the season!

Following the emergence of the Delta variant, the CDC recommendations shifted and San Mateo County issued its August 3 “return to mask mandates indoors” for fully vaccinated people.

All very discouraging when we thought we were coming to the end of this pandemic. So, like everyone, we remain very concerned – for our staff and for everyone coming into Windy City, including our BEARS fans. Continue reading Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club 2021 Season Update →

BBQ, Pizza, Windy City Blog

PLEASE ORDER DIRECTLY FROM WINDY CITY PIZZA AND BBQ

Windy City continues to welcome customers old and new to our dining room, bar and patio after 16 months of pandemic restrictions!

All of us at Windy City Pizza and BBQ thank all of you – our customers – for the support and loyalty you showed by ordering lunches and dinners for takeout or delivery during the pandemic. You kept us afloat! Plus, we are thrilled to have many new takeout and delivery customers join our Windy City family!

Third-Party Delivery App Commissions Have Increased Once Again to as Much as 30%+

Last Fall, San Mateo County imposed a 15% limitation on the commission rates charged by third-party apps like GrubHub, UberEats and DoorDash. Those limitations were lifted June 15. So these third party delivery companies are now taking 30%+ of Windy City’s delivery/pick up revenue.

We ask for your continued help as we attempt to return to more normal operations. We all understand how convenient it is to use a 3rd party app but our little pizza joint just cannot compete with these huge 3rd party companies. (None of them has reached profitability, either, so we don’t expect better pricing from them anytime soon!)

We’ve been in business for over 30 years…please take just a few steps to help us keep going for many years to come:

  • Call us at 650-578-1942. Not only can we take your order, we can answer menu / pricing /any other questions. Plus, in these tough times, hearing our phones ring always lifts our spirits!
  • Use Windy City’s in-house on-line ordering system, HungerRush. Orders placed through HungerRush do not incur any third party fees! There is a phone app for HungerRush, and you can also access it via your desktop computers.

Additionally:

  • By placing your order directly with us, you help Windy City continue to keep our three hard working delivery drivers employed!
  • Because our drivers are employees, we have more control over delivery of your order. Drivers are on site, standing by for evening delivery (5pm to Close), so your food is delivered still hot in our thermal bags. A third-party delivery person might not use thermal bags and could have multiple orders stacked up for delivery ahead of yours.

We understand some customers prefer the convenience of using 3rd party apps and Windy City is trying hard to make the delivery app economics work during these tough times. We always appreciate your business!

STICK WITH WINDY CITY PIZZA AND BBQ, AND WE WILL STICK WITH YOU FOR YEARS TO COME!

We all look forward to better days as we move through 2021. Regardless, we soldier on, baking pies and smoking meat to serve some of the best Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and Texas Smokehouse BBQ you can find in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Thank you, everyone! We hope to hear from you all very soon (by phone and HungerRush!) And, of course, we are delighted to welcome you back though our doors for indoor/patio dining.

BBQ, Windy City Blog

Why are BBQ Meat Prices Going Through the Roof?

Meat prices have been rising dramatically. The recent ransom hacking of JBS, one of the world’s largest meat processors, put meat prices in the headlines, but restaurants like Windy City have been seeing supply constraints and big price jumps for months. The hacking episode merely made the situation worse!

Meat Prices for our BBQ Dishes Have Risen Dramatically in 2021

Meat price volatility made menu pricing for Windy City very difficult to hold down, and because the trend is not likely to reverse itself anytime soon, we have had to increase menu prices.

A number of factors drive the rise in pricing for our meat products: Continue reading Why are BBQ Meat Prices Going Through the Roof? →

Bears Club, Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Pizza, Windy City Blog

Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club – December Update

To Our Bears Fan Club Members from Ronnie, Trish and Bob;

Hello Bears Fans – Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you and your families are safe and healthy!

Let’s talk Bears football! Our crazy season fits right in with this crazy 2020 year, where we were 5 and 1 and then, well, things just fell apart for the next six weeks. We all went from being proud Bears fans to being very frustrated and embarrassed. After all that, we still have a slim chance to make the playoffs. Now Nagy’s job is in jeopardy as well as Pace and our team could be starting over next season. But I’m hoping with our re-shuffled offensive line, and Trubisky playing with a chip on his shoulder, that we may have a shot. Throw in Montgomery becoming the Back we always knew he was and the Offensive Coordinator finally realizing what we have in Cole Kmet and how best to use him, and Graham to compliment Robinson and our young receivers and we’ll get this Offense really moving. If that all comes together, we might just have a shot! Continue reading Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club – December Update →

BBQ, Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Pizza, Salads, Sandwiches, Windy City Blog

The Best Way to Order from Windy City Pizza and BBQ

As we enter the Holiday season, all of us at Windy City Pizza and BBQ wish to thank all of you for the support and loyalty so many of you have shown by ordering lunches and dinners for takeout or delivery over the last nine (!) months of pandemic shutdown!

As we work hard to survive the temporary closing of the Windy City dining room and bar, every order makes a difference in keeping the doors open until we can safely welcome everyone back!

Third-Party Delivery Apps Take a Big Percentage of Our Takeout and Delivery Revenue

One hurdle to ensuring the survival of local restaurants is the fees third-party delivery services like DoorDash, UberEats and GrubHub charge for their services. It is no secret that those fees can add up to 30% of the check on many orders! Continue reading The Best Way to Order from Windy City Pizza and BBQ →

Bears Club, Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Pizza, Windy City Blog

Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club – October Update

To Our Chicago Bears Fan Club Members from Ronnie;

Hello Bay Area Bears Fans!

I hope all of you are doing well and keeping your blood pressure down with all of these Bears games! I wish we could all be at Windy City Pizza enjoying the season together. Unfortunately we can’t, but at least we have Bears football to watch. Here we are at 4-1 and haven’t really hit our potential yet! Our defense is playing pretty well but not great. They are missing a lot of tackles and committing penalties, all of which are driving me crazy! But at least they are making the plays when we really need them to. It’s only a matter of time before Quinn and Mack really start wreaking havoc on the opposing offense, and that’s when the rest of the D benefits. Continue reading Bay Area Chicago Bears Fan Club – October Update →