the bravo family
From left to right: Jeff, Noah, Jordan and Ivan Himmel
all in the family
Home of the famous Chicago-Style Deep Dish Gino’s East pizza, Bravo Restaurants embodies the essence of family business. With Chicago roots dating back to the late 1800s, the Himmels continue to keep their locally tied business in the family – with Jeff Himmel serving as president, and Jordan Himmel as Chief Information Officer. With multi-generational history as rich as our crust, the Bravo family mentality doesn’t stop there!
Gino’s East has always been regarded as a family pizzeria, because it’s ingrained into the very foundation of our recipes! Our signature crust was developed by Alice Mae Redmond, a phenomenally talented pizza chef who would stay with Gino’s for 29 years. Alice Mae passed the recipe down to her nephew, Glenn Hudley, who would continue to work as Gino’s kitchen manager after Alice Mae’s retirement.
Our secret recipe continues to be passed down – on a need-to-know basis, of course – and our family values remain a crucial part of Bravo’s DNA. There isn’t a more perfect example of this than our history with the Lovelady family. Since the 1970s, three generations of Lovelady women have become an integral part of the Gino’s family, working as pizza chefs and managers. Family values like these are what Bravo Restaurants is all about!
50 YEAR LEGACY
The only thing constant in the world is change; new ingredients present themselves, food trends turn with the times, and the way people eat is ever evolving. As long-standing members of the culinary industry, it is up to us to embrace this change, while keeping the history alive. Pizza is one of the biggest slices of Chicago’s culinary foundation, and we’re committed to passing our story down from generation to generation. As we expand to new markets in new places, Gino’s East aims to maintain tradition through a modern lens. We may have entered a new century, but our commitment to fresh ingredients, customer care, and delicious pizza is as strong as it was when we first opened our doors in 1966.
