Two Utah County couples are bringing Chicago-style pizza to the Wasatch Front.
Rosati’s Pizza is a national, family-owned pizza chain known for its deep dish pizza. Heidi and Mike Sonnenberg and Erik and Katie Jacobson will open the first Rosati’s location in Orem, Utah, in mid-November.
The venture began when Mike, co-founder of Lindon-based Awardco and a Chicago native, shared his love of Rosati’s with his wife Heidi. “We have pizza quite a bit at our house,” Heidi says. “Every time we do, we always say, ‘We wish we had a Rosati’s here.’”
During a recent visit to a Rosati’s location in Arizona, Heidi spotted the contact info for the franchising team on one of the restaurant’s pizza boxes. Unbeknownst to Mike, she texted the number and was surprised by the company’s swift reply. As it turned out, Rosati’s corporate leadership had been eyeing the Utah market and was enthusiastic about a local partnership.
“At that point, they started pursuing us,” Heidi says. “We knew that we could monetarily do it, but we just didn’t seem to have the bandwidth — Mike is a co-owner of Awardco, and I’m a full-time mom of three.”
Not long after the Sonnenbergs had made contact with Rosati’s, Heidi discussed the possibility with Katie. She was intrigued by the idea and brought it up with her husband Erik, whose experience as a criminal defense attorney made him eager for a challenging project like this.
“I deal with high-conflict individuals in crisis, and though I am fulfilled with my work, it gets heavy and hard,” he says. “When Katie mentioned this lunch conversation, I thought it sounded amazing. We booked a trip to Arizona to meet with the franchise manager.”
According to the National Restaurant Association, Utah’s hospitality industry generated just over $12 billion for the state’s local economy and over $3 billion in total labor income in 2024. Though labor shortages and price increases are still pressing issues for the proprietors of our local food and dining scene, the overall industry is trending positively. These numbers have made Utah an attractive market for national restaurant brands, with IBIS World reporting that chain restaurants in Utah are expected to grow at an average rate of 12.5 percent annually.
Though both the Sonnenbergs and Jacobsons have a personal affection for Rosati’s, they did plenty of market research — which involved eating a lot of local pizza — to gauge demand for the type of pizza Rosati’s is known for.
“I think we’ve tried every pizza place in Utah County, and we know that we’re going to be different,” Erik says. “Even with the Rosati’s thin crust, you’ve got a very different style of pizza.”
Even looking past the number of fast-food pizza restaurants like Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesars, Utah has seen an uptick in niche pizza restaurants such as Via 313, which serves Detroit-style deep dish. That said, the nuances of Chicago-style deep dish aren’t very well represented on the Wasatch Front, which is something that a Rosati’s can rectify.
On top of that, the Sonnenbergs and Jacobsons have a unique insight into the Utah market that they are hoping will give their franchise an edge. “Utah is an interesting market because it’s very family-friendly and there are a lot of universities,” Heidi says. “You’ve got people wanting to eat out, but you’ve also got catering opportunities.” This prompted the owners to opt for the fast casual model of Rosati’s franchise since it offers both dine-in and carryout service. Their planned location is in Orem’s University Place Mall, so the owners are planning on taking advantage of the existing crowds that come to shop.
From an operational standpoint, the franchise owners are planning on making a few adjustments to Rosati’s traditional methods to align with Utah culture.
“We are not going to be open on Sundays, and we are hoping that will appeal to the workforce since there will always be a day off,” Heidi says. They also will not serve alcohol.
In addition to filling a market need in Utah’s pizza scene, the owners are most looking forward to sharing their favorite pizza with Utah diners. “We want to create this culture that feels welcoming, inviting and long-term,” Katie says.