Piccolo Buco Opens in Schaumburg, Bringing Iconic Pizza from Rome to Chicago's Northwest Suburbs
From a three-ingredient crust perfected mere steps from the Trevi Fountain to an Italian-focused wine program, the Piccolo Buco experience arrives at 1340 E Golf Rd on June 29
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., June 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- All pizza is good. This pizza is better.
Piccolo Buco, the century-old Roman pizzeria known for its extraordinary crust, is opening its fourth US location in Schaumburg, Illinois on June 29. Built on three ingredients, Italian-imported flour, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil, and shaped by decades of practice, Chef Luca Issa's crust is tall and cloudlike with a crisp, substantial rim. It’s presented tableside and cut with scissors. A traditional pizza cutter would collapse what took decades to build.
The story of Piccolo Buco begins in 1916, just steps from Rome's Trevi Fountain, where Chef Luca Issa grew up working alongside his father before taking over the family restaurant in 2015. On a trip to Italy in 2019, Cooper's Hawk Founder Tim McEnery was eating his way through Rome when he found it, fell hard for the pizza and brought it home for the rest of us.
"We're thrilled to bring Piccolo Buco to Schaumburg. The first time I sat down with Luca at his original restaurant in Rome, I knew I had come across something very special. The pizza was incredible, but it was Luca's passion, hospitality and sense of community that really stayed with me. I immediately started thinking about how we could bring that experience back home," said Tim McEnery, Founder and CEO of Piccolo Buco. "Pizza is serious business around here and Piccolo Buco is unlike anything else. It's a little slice of Rome, built around great food, great wine and bringing people together. We can't wait to open our doors and welcome the Schaumburg community."
The pizza is the centerpiece of the Piccolo Buco experience. Everything else on the menu—the antipasti, the pastas, the desserts—is built around the same philosophy: simple things, done with mastery. That starts with the ingredients:
- Organic San Marzano-style tomatoes for the red sauce are grown in California and harvested at peak ripeness, then processed and jarred to preserve their flavor.
- Yellow tomatoes for the bisque and specialty sauces come from southern Italy.
- Salami and ‘nduja are made by an artisan salumi maker in Chicago using Italian-imported spices following Luca’s grandmother’s recipe.
- The dough is made with "00" Caputo flour, the gold standard of Italian milled wheat.
Beyond the pizza, the menu features Roman classics like Mama Luca's Meatballs, Crispy Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Cacio e Pepe, Truffle Fondue Cappellacci, Braised Short Ribs and Mama Luca's Tiramisu. The lunch menu offers Toasted Sardinian Sandwiches made with the restaurant's own pizza dough, served daily until 3:30pm.
The wine program is built around a single conviction: good pizza and a good glass of wine are one of life's most reliable pleasures. The list starts in Italy, with Chianti from Tuscany, Pinot Grigio from Northeastern Italy and Buca Riserva, a Super Tuscan-style blend made exclusively for Piccolo Buco in partnership with Italian winemakers. It runs from light Lambruscos and Frascatis to cult Super Tuscans and Barolos, with Cooper's Hawk signatures rounding out the selection. Every dish on the menu carries a pairing recommendation, and every pairing is intentional.
At the heart of the wine experience is the Gusti Bar. Drawing from the Italian tradition of small wine tastings called Gusti di Vini, it offers eight pours on a rotating theme at the bar, with a four-pour version of Classico, Bianco, Rosso, Dolce and Cantina available tableside. Start here, find a favorite, order the bottle.
Happy Hour is available every Monday-Thursday from 2-5:30pm and features select $15 pizzas, $8 wines by the glass, $5 draft beers, $8 cocktails and wine slushies.
The Schaumburg location seats 158 inside and 30 on the patio, with a large tasting bar at the entrance layered with collected objects, colorful artwork and vintage-inspired details, alongside a semi-private dining space that can be draped off for private gatherings.
Piccolo Buco is part of the Cooper's Hawk brand portfolio. Cooper’s Hawk Wine Club members enjoy points and preferred pricing on retail bottles at all locations.
Location and Hours
1340 E Golf Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173
Sunday through Thursday: 11am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday: 11am to 10pm
Reservations and Information
Phone: 630-303-9111
Website: piccolobuco.com
Instagram: @piccolobuco | Facebook: Piccolo Buco
Menus
Lunch and dinner menus can be accessed here
Photos
A full library of images can be accessed here
About Piccolo Buco
Piccolo Buco is a Roman pizzeria built on three ingredients, years of craft and an Italian conviction that simple, executed with obsessive care, is its own form of luxury. Born from a collaboration between Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants Founder Tim McEnery and Rome-based Chef Luca Issa, Piccolo Buco operates locations in Oak Brook, Naperville and Tampa, with Schaumburg marking the latest. Cooper's Hawk's 865,000 Wine Club members enjoy exclusive benefits at all Piccolo Buco and Cooper's Hawk locations nationwide.
Media Contact
Jenna Liberman, Slow Down Co.
jenna@slowdownco.com
847-280-1034
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