There's something romantic about the origin story of Sera, a Roman-style pizza operation that's about to pop up at 15 Chicago-area farmers markets this summer. It begins, fittingly, under a tent at a food festival in 2023, where Aly Jamal and Paolo Savescu first stood shoulder-to-shoulder frying panzerotti. What could have been a fleeting summer gig turned into something deeper when the two discovered they were kindred spirits in the kitchen—the type who arrive early, leave late, and genuinely care about what they're making.
The real spark came later, when Savescu returned home to Italy and Jamal happened to visit Rome. Walking through the city at night, watching Romans casually enjoy food in the streets while restaurants stayed open late, something clicked. They realized Chicago was missing that energy—that modern, accessible Italian experience that felt alive rather than formal. The idea for Sera was born during an olive harvest in Savescu's village when Jamal texted a simple proposition: let's start a pop-up.
Neither knew exactly what that meant at first. Savescu had just completed a pizza course at a prestigious Roman institution, while Jamal was pondering his next hospitality move. Together, they decided to focus on Roman-style pizza—the rectangular, crispy-crusted cousin of Neapolitan pizza that barely exists in Chicago outside a handful of spots. They launched last summer with pop-ups around the city, eventually landing a Monday residency at Kama restaurant in Wicker Park. That's where they really found their footing, handing out samples and discovering that pizza was their superpower.
When Savescu filled in for a family olive oil business at farmers markets, Jamal spotted an opportunity. The markets were full of adventurous eaters and foot traffic. One conversation with a market manager led to a booking, and suddenly Sera was everywhere.
But success bred ambition. Savescu returned to Italy and enrolled in an intensive baking program at ALMA, Italy's top culinary school, where he spent 30 days learning dough craft from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. He came back changed—obsessed with fermentation, ingredient quality, and the patience required to make something truly excellent. This year, Sera switched to a sourdough starter fermented for 48 hours, upgraded to DOP-certified San Marzano tomatoes, and incorporated Savescu's family olive oil into every pizza.
The pizzas themselves are individually sized, priced between $16 and $21, with six permanent options and a rotating seasonal special. They're made with dough prepared ahead of time, then finished in an 800-to-1,000-degree Gozney oven on-site. It's meticulous, deliberate, quality-first thinking.
What makes Sera work is the partnership itself. Jamal keeps things grounded and focused while Savescu trusts his instincts completely. Neither will compromise on standards. This summer, as they expand across Wicker Park, Logan Square, Andersonville, and the suburbs, that philosophy of refinement—refining it, refining it, refining it—seems poised to resonate. Sometimes the best ideas come from late-night walks through Rome and texts sent from olive groves. Sometimes they just need the right two people to make them real.
