Burt's Place closing temporarily

Just enjoyed a wonderful lunchtime pizza at Burt's. Burt and Sharon shared the news that Burt will be undergoing a routine medical procedure that will sideline him from the business for at least four weeks, more likely six to eight weeks. They will be open through this weekend (Feb 3).

Burt and Sharon asked me to relay the news here. They wanted to be perfectly clear that they're not overhauling the business or the management or anything, just that they will be off for this time while Burt gets back up to full speed. As usual, I would recommend calling before visiting this weekend.

Burt's Place
8541 N. Ferris
Morton Grove, IL
847-965-7997

Burt's a great guy. If you (or BuddyRoadhouse) can convey best wishes that everything goes well, please do so.

tapler wrote:Burt and Sharon shared the news that Burt will be undergoing a routine medical procedure that will sideline him from the business for at least four weeks, more likely six to eight weeks.

I hope it's routine. I'm trying to come up with a "routine medical procedure" that can sideline a person for eight weeks, and I'm not coming up with one.

In any case, best wishes to Burt for the most routine of all possible recoveries.

I hope it's routine. I'm trying to come up with a "routine medical procedure" that can sideline a person for eight weeks, and I'm not coming up with one.

Is it anyone's business to speculate about that?

Burt's Place is a GEM! We will miss it in the month of February.
We wish Burt a speedy recovery, and hope to be eating his delicious pizza again soon!

Molly wrote:

I hope it's routine. I'm trying to come up with a "routine medical procedure" that can sideline a person for eight weeks, and I'm not coming up with one.

Is it anyone's business to speculate about that?

No, it isn't. The restaurant is open through the weekend, implying that the surgery is scheduled. Out of respect for Burt, we should not speculate on-line.

I hope it's routine. I'm trying to come up with a "routine medical procedure" that can sideline a person for eight weeks, and I'm not coming up with one.

That depends on your definition of "routine." I had total hip replacement surgery last spring, and in the sense that the entire thing was planned and scheduled, as was the rehab, I considered it totally routine, as did my surgeon. Eight weeks later, I was back out and about, literally better than new. Piece o' cake. Really.

Best wishes to Burt. May his recovery from his procedure be as totally run-of-the-mill and sans excitement as mine. Buddy - please pass this along. I met both you and Burt in my pre-surgery gimpier days, and you were both very charming and cheery. We owe you a visit ASAP!

Darren72 wrote:

Molly wrote:

I hope it's routine. I'm trying to come up with a "routine medical procedure" that can sideline a person for eight weeks, and I'm not coming up with one.

Is it anyone's business to speculate about that?

No, it isn't. The restaurant is open through the weekend, implying that the surgery is scheduled. Out of respect for Burt, we should not speculate on-line.

Burt discussed it with us in more detail, but no I didn't feel comfortable sharing those details here. He's not shy, though, and I'm sure he'd be happy to talk about it with almost anyone in person. I don't know what the definition of "routine" is, I simply meant that it's not an uncommon procedure and you probably would not know he'd undergone it unless he told you about it when you saw him.

Note: Anything specific/personal posted about Burt's impending routine medical procedure that is not posted by either Burt or Sharon will be immediately deleted from the thread, including idle speculation.

That said, best of luck to Burt, I hope to be first in line when they reopen.

Enjoy,
Gary

Is it anyone's business to speculate about that?

Molly, when you say I'm "speculating," you're misinterpreting me. I agree with you that whatever is happening with Burt is none of my business. That's why I didn't even hint at a hypothesis, nor did I request any information. I merely said that I knew of no "routine" procedure that would sideline a person for eight weeks. Since then, sundevilpeg has offered up one that she considers routine, and tapler has questioned whether his original use of "routine" was even the right word choice--which may have been what threw me off.

I'm replying because it grieves me to have my meaning on this misunderstood. Thanks.

I spoke to Burt this afternoon after the news broke. All I can do is confirm the original report that the store will be closing after this Sunday night, February 3rd, 2008. I also need to stress that this is happening due to the medical procedure mentioned in the original post. Burt is not selling the store and does plan to reopen after a recuperation period of at least four weeks and more likely 6 to 8 weeks.

Burt and Sharon appreciate all the well-wishers and look forward to seeing everyone once Burt is 100% up to speed. If you know Burt, you know he is not a "computer guy" by any stretch of the imagination. So I will print out all posts with good thoughts and present them to him this Saturday night when I see him.

With this news coming out today, business is likely to be extremely brisk for the rest of the week, so it is recommended that you call ahead with your order, either for pick up or "eating in", well in advance.

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as posssible on Saturday night.

Buddy

Wow! Damned sad to hear that about Burt.

Unfortunately, can't make it in before the temporary closing, but Mrs. Griz and I certainly send Burt the best of wishes for successful treatment and a speedy recovery (bests to Sharon, also).

Great folks, great pizza. They'll be missed while they're away.

Buddy, please keep us in tuned in to the date for re-opening.

Hi,

Josephine and I dined at Burt's this evening. Burt is one spry guy with a very good attitude who is looking forward to coming back to work asap.

Don't shed a tear for the Pizza Dude (a very young customer's nickname for Burt), because he plans to be back in the saddle again. In fact he is delaying his procedure to meet a commitment to an almost 3-year-old fan to make pizza for his birthday. Otherwise the shop might have been closed for an extended time beginning today.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:In fact he is delaying his procedure to meet a commitment to an almost 3-year-old fan to make pizza for his birthday.

That is wonderful.

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:Burt and Sharon appreciate all the well-wishers and look forward to seeing everyone once Burt is 100% up to speed.

We too went for dinner last night. I hope he wait's till he's "100 percent." But my impression is that he already can't wait to get back.

What a guy. Best wishes to both he and Sharon.

As news broke here that Burt's would be closed for a while, it occurred to me I had not been there in a long time . . . a very long time. And I began to crave a Burt's pizza. As I have typically done in the past, I phoned early in the morning for my pick up order and picked it up just as dinner hours began.

The trek through the snow from O'Hare-ville took me through some nasty, messy streets, and probably an hour or more out of my way (mostly due to the snow). Traffic back to Lincoln Square was bumper to bumper . . . and the smell of the delicious Burt's pizza was slapping me upside the head. Eat me! Well, what was I supposed to do.

I figured I'd just have one little taste, so I tore right through the paper. Perfect. And then another little bite . . . and then another. All of a sudden, I became thrilled that traffic was not moving at all. I don't think I'm going to discuss how much of this medium sausage-onion pizza I ended up eating on the way home (luckily, very little ended up on my pants, car seats, etc.) And my craving was satisfied. And during my one hour drive from Morton Grove to Lincoln Square (normally, just about 20 minutes), I hardly knew whether it was 80 degrees and sunny or 20 degrees and blizzard-like conditions. Now how many pizza places can deliver that type of experience.

So best of health to Burt and his family and I hope I can actually arrive home next time with more than 1/2 of a pizza remaining.

OK, so I've got nothing unique to add to the chorus of well-wishers above. But I count myself lucky to have sat once more in that old smithy, to have savored that carmelized crust, and to have laughed out loud with Burt, Sharon, and Cathy2.

Some call it "flow," Last night, I called it "Burt's."

Had lunch at Burt's yesterday, Burt seemed in good spirits, Sharon continues to be one of the nicer people in all of Chicagoland.

Burt, Sharon


Pizza was nothing short of remarkable, evenly crisp crust, well balanced quality ingredients with the occasional sunburst of toasty crunchy cheese.

Burt's Place Pizza


Not too busy Thursday noon, which gave us a chance to chat with Burt and Sharon, a very relaxing lunch.



I'll be thinking a good thought for Burt.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:I'll be thinking a good thought for Burt.

Let's hope that books like "Thoughts Are Things" and "The Secret" (the gist of which is that thoughts are "energy" that guarantees the outcome of whatever thought is being thunk) are not just a bunch of malarkey. Because if there's anything to those books at all, the net number of thoughts in the positive column for Burt will have him up and about in no time.

I managed to make the trek up to Burt's tonight for a brilliant rendition of a xlarge sausage fresh garlic and sweet peppers.
Sharon remarked that this particular pizza would make a great magazine cover. Of course, I forgot to bring my camera, but this last one for awhile is the best of them all! I told Burt that he is finally getting the hang of this pizza thing....
God speed, Burt!

I hope this post will be received more as a public service message rather than as a shameless plug. Just thought some of you might like to know that Burt will be open as early as Noon on Super Bowl Sunday, for carry out only. He will open at the regular 4:30 time for in store dining.

His surgery is scheduled for either Tuesday or Wednesday. I will keep you posted as information becomes available and relevant.

Buddy

The man is a machine. Is he going in for surgery or a tune-up?

Missed you last night Louisa; Burt said you were coming in for dinner. I was looking forward to seeing you again. Oh well, it would have been a good night too. We were only moderately busy in the store with most of the orders going out as pick ups.

I'm not sure what a "tune up" entails, but I can tell you there will be actual surgery involved. I'll give more details after the successful completion of the operation.

Buddy

Louisa Chu wrote:The man is a machine. Is he going in for surgery or a tune-up?

Louisa,

Agreed, Burt is a finely tuned pizza making machine. One of the good guys.

Not to put too fine a point on it I'd rather, as I said upthread, keep Burt's private personal medical specifics off the board, though you may wish to PM Buddy.

Regards,
Gary

My sister Annie and I went last night for dinner. Thanks to the game, snow, and Sunday night, we were the only table in the house. It's hard for me to remember a more magical evening, in the comfort of that room, with great conversation and, of course, Burt's incomparably crafted pizza. Can't wait to see Burt and Sharon again soon.


Spinach and Sausage Pizza

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:I hope this post will be received more as a public service message rather than as a shameless plug. Just thought some of you might like to know that Burt will be open as early as Noon on Super Bowl Sunday, for carry out only. He will open at the regular 4:30 time for in store dining.

Thanks for this heads-up. I was able to drive down last night and pick up a few pizzas for the freezer. It's not enough to last me 8 weeks. OK, it's not enough to last 1 week. But I had to have something before he closed up shop.

Wishing Burt all the best.

midas wrote:Thanks for this heads-up. I was able to drive down last night and pick up a few pizzas for the freezer.

Did you order cooked or uncooked pizzas? If uncooked, how do your replicate the caramelized crust?

stevez wrote:Did you order cooked or uncooked pizzas? If uncooked, how do your replicate the caramelized crust?

I order it cooked. As soon as I get home, I'm having some pizza!!!

It's the strangest thing though. Take a slice from the freezer and heat it up, hopefully on a Pizzaz, and it's the best frozen pizza you've ever had. But it doesn't taste anything like it does fresh out of the oven at Burts.

So anybody have any word on how things went?