Couple Sues Lou Malnati's After Losing Child in Deep Dish Pizza

By: Dylan Siegfried

CHICAGO, IL - Last Thursday, a Skokie couple launched a lawsuit against the Lou Malnati’s restaurant chain after they lost their small child in the middle of a deep dish pizza.

“One minute my family and I are enjoying a nice relaxing dinner, the next, i see my son's velcro Sketchers sinking into our main course,” said mother Carla, as she picked hunks of cheese out of her young son’s ears. "It's ridiculous, they knew he was in the pizza and it still took them 3 minutes to fish him out."

The Anderson family will be seeking $500,000 from Lou Malnati’s for the emotional trauma they have endured, along with reimbursement for the multiple cleaning products used to remove the over-ripe tomato smell from Timmy’s hair. CEO Tino Malnati countered in a statement, saying that the Anderson family's experience was not typical.

"At Lou Malnati's, we promise that this is a very rare case. We only lose about a dozen people in pizzas every year, and we end up recovering most of them," Malnati said. "This is a risk you take with deep dish. If you want a child proof pizza, order thin crust."

The lawyer for the Anderson family countered that there are several common sense safety procedures Lou Malnati's failed to take, including having lifeguards on duty, or providing customers with floaties approved for use in tomato sauce.

"It's a small child and a deep pizza," said the lawyer. "Mr. Malnati doesn't need to be a genius to do the math."

Until they can make the necessary changes, Lou Malnati’s has announced that patrons will have to be at least 4 feet tall to eat at their restaurants.