By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor Published Apr 05, 2023 at 11:11 AM

It’s National Deep Dish Pizza Day! And that’s a great excuse to head out to enjoy your favorite deep, cheesy pie.

But Lou Malnati’s – the iconic Chicago restaurant known for its deep dish –  is taking the holiday a step further by rallying support across the nation for the implementation of an official deep dish pizza emoji.

Despite the fact that there are various styles of pizza and pizza emojis are among the most popular food emojis, there is only one pizza emoji in the official canon.

“America is more than one style of pizza, and Americans deserve more than just a N.Y. slice to express themselves,” notes Lou Malnati’s owner, Marc Malnati. “Whether in our restaurants or shipped nationwide, we serve millions of deep dish lovers every year. It’s time we give these fans their own icon and identity with a new emoji to express our deepest pizza-preciation.”

deep dish pizza emoji
One deep dish pizza emoji option
X

Vote & sign to show support

In an effort to unite #DeepDishNation, Lou Malnati’s has launched an official emoji site where you can vote for your fave, plus  a national petition, allowing fans of deep dish pizza to lend their support for the new emoji.

Deep dish pizza fans are encouraged to join in by taking a moment to vote for their favorite deep dish pizza emoji design at DeepDishEmoji.com.

From there, they are invited to sign the official petition hosted at Change.org

Once the voting and petition closes, Lou Malnati’s will present a proposal to the Unicode Consortium to add the winning design to the universal emoji keyboard.

Another deep dish pizza emoji option
Another deep dish pizza emoji option
X

Deep dish fans and soon-to-be citizens of #DeepDishNation will have several months to lend their names to the cause. If the petition is successful, America could see the deep dish emoji on their digital keyboards before the end of the year.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor

As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.