Top of the Morning; Feb. 3, 2024

Feb. 3—Grabbing a bite with Joey Wright

On Saturdays, we chop it up with the folks responsible for dishing up food around the area. What restaurant should we try next? Let Joey Wright know at jwright@news-gazette.com.

Papa Del's Pizza Factory has been a Champaign staple for more than five decades.

Even in a relatively quiet January, such is easily apparent when Brad Underwood's weekly radio show emanates from the restaurant to affiliates across Illinois on Monday nights.

"It's really good energy," general manager Andrea Seten said. "It's really great, too, especially during basketball season, when they bring in Orange Krush, and you have a table with like 40 students."

Hosting Underwood's show — and Bret Bielema's show during football season — was an easy "yes" when the restaurant was presented with the idea a few years ago.

Just make sure you get their early — and order quickly — on those busy evenings.

"We have people come to every show," Seten said. "We know what table they want to sit at, they have it down to a science, they order their pizza as soon as they get here."

The restaurant's recipes haven't changed since third-generation restaurateur Robert Monti first opened his doors in 1970.

Those tried-and-true recipes — which also accommodate folks with dietary restrictions — have kept folks coming back.

"What's actually pretty popular that not a lot of places do in town is we have a gluten-free crust and a dairy-free cheese," Seten said.

"We sell a ton, because I think the people that know that it's out there, they can still enjoy pizza, and it's safe for them to eat."

In some sense, the restaurant is a literal pizza factory. It sells frozen pizzas that ship across the country.

"Whenever there's a holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, all those, we see a big influx of orders," Seten said. "It's nice because you can just do that online, we get the orders, pack them up, overnight on dry ice."