Home Run Inn

Pizza was great! Ordered on line and used the drive thru to pick up.

This place is more like a Burger King than the Home Run Inns I am used to. The one in my home town was a sit-​down menu type place, so I was surprised when we went in here for lunch on a weekday to find it was an order-​at-​the-​counter spot. Also, they have po boys? I got a shrimp po boy and my mom got some pizza. It was fine, but the bun was more like a lobster roll treatment. She had a gift card, which is why we came here. Not sure I would return, but I can see why some like it for a quick lunch.

Not just bad, laughable. Other reviews are spot on. THE ORDER: We asked for a ½ & ½. Each side was one of their features pizzas. So the cashier proceeds to read off toppings and asks if she’s right. We grabbed a menu and read what each «featured» pizza was to have and confirmed it for her. THE DELIVERY: 50 minutes later (I’ve waited less time for a deep dish) it’s finally brought to our table — and it’s totally wrong! The manager comes over and explains it took longer due to it «having meat on it»…what? Also suggested we just eat it and he’ll make a free small pizza for us… uh, it’s still not what we ordered! THE DEPARTURE: So we requested our money back as we were just ready to leave. He pulls cash out of the register, flails it at me, and offers no apology. Total fail from the order to the cash-​back departure. Too many good pizza places in Chicago to waste time with pathetic pie.

I love Home Run Inn pizza but this location can sometimes be very aggravating. You never know what type of service you’re going to get. The wait times can be ridiculous and sometimes it takes no time at all to get a slice of pizza. I’ve certainly had my fair share of times where I’ve waited 20 mins for one slice of pizza. I don’t know what that’s about but it needs to stop. However, judging from the reviews it hasn’t and has lost them many customers.

I went in to get two slices of sausage thin crust to go, was not disappointed.
The taste was great even after being reheated hours later.
The cashier was very careful in handling the food which is a star for me.
The restaurant dining area looked very clean.

I’m better off buying the freezer pizza from Aldi. Customer service sucked. At least pretend u like your job. Stank ass attitude. First and last time I’m coming here.

If there were an option for ZERO stars that’d be my choice. The customer service is terrible and I had to change what I wanted like 3 times considering this place that sells pizza… didn’t have cheese or pepperoni pizza. How? How does that happen? This place gives the home run inn chain a bad name. They need either new management or a store closing

I give this place 1 star since I have to give it a star. Came here for the first and last time. Pizza is horrible I wouldn’t even give it to my dog.

Pizza tasted great. Great customer service. …
The only issue was the pizza wasn’t ready in 30 minutes like they said on the phone but understood it’s Saturday.

3 starts based on good points for food and service. The restaurant is clean, the cashier was helpful and polite, the pizza was hot and tasty. The only reason behind the two point deduction was the inconsistent pricing. I’m a man on a budget and when I eat out for lunch I like a good deal. I normally go to the HRI in Hillside when I want pizza for lunch but today I happened to be in Melrose Park and thought I would give their HRI a try. Ordered the same thing I always do in Hillside assuming same chain same lunch deals, right? Wrong I was. Shocked me to see I was paying almost $ 3 more here than I do for the same food a few miles down the road at the same franchise owned by the same people. That is ridiculous. Honestly, I wont be returning to their Melrose park location because I feel like I just got cheated there and am going to consider other pizza places within my budget moving forward.

This pizza taste nothing like the original one on 31^st especially the crust… the crust is the main reason we love Home Run Inn. The frozen version is much better. The other thing I hated more than the food… the floor (including the bathroom) was sticky which means they do not clean therefore I won’t be back!!!

I went here for the first time and last time! I will never go to this place of business. I am a big believer on customer service. I am a well mannered person and if i say thank you the least you can do is acknowledge me, and if I ask you something I expect a reply not for you to ignore me. The people working there might hate their job but do not take it out on your customers by treating them like crap. NEVER AGAIN!

I do not understand all the bad reviews. One person of course ordered a slice with an unusual combination of toppings and complained he had to wait a few minutes!
Ok. I have been eating HRI pizza since 1948. Yes, 1948. My family lived in easy driving distance of the original place. Even then it was the most expensive pizza around. But then, like now, they do not skimp on toppings. The pizza is loaded up.
Now, I usually go to the Melrose Park location and pickup my pizza to eat at home. Sometimes I do stop by for a slice at lunch time.
In my experience the pizza has always been up to the high standard I expect and the service has always been pleasant.

No. Take away that 1 star. The only reason it’s there is because I had to. Last time I went, I vowed to never go back again. Before the last time, I witnessed the girl behind the counter wipe her nose with her hands and handle the oven without washing her hands. I left and complained and the manager assured me that it wouldn’t happen again and to come back. Unfortunately, I did. I went through the drive thru this time months later and the girl taking my order was RUDE! I ordered a simple slice of tomato and basil and had to wait 10 mins for that. I waited because I was hungry. When I got the pizza, no ‘hi’, ‘here you go’, nothing. Just handed me the pizza and shut the window. Smh. I was stopped at the red light so I decided to take a bite while I was waiting. I lifted the soggy slice and the cheese, sauce and toppings fell into the box in 1 clump. What kind of pizza is this? I made a u turn right back in the lot. I came in this time only to be greeted by the girl who served me by «what’s the problem?» WOW. Seriously? I told her to get her manager and the manager explained that the pizza oven probably was too hot. I’m thinking to myself ‘why serve it, then?’ There shouldn’t have been any excuses. She gave me my $ back and did I mention that the girl who serviced me and 2 other girls were just standing there, not working or cleaning, they wanted to see some action. The girl leaned over the counter with her hands touching her face. This place is totally unsanitary, the food is messy and nasty, and the service is… I honestly don’t even have any words for their service. I’ve tried calling to complain to this location and to the headquarters. I hoped they got my message. This location needs to be shut down and it’s workers need to go back to the zoo where they belong. This place alone made me want to never give Melrose park another dime of my $ and the city itself did nothing wrong. Hire friendly people and get it together.

Awful, just awful! The pizza tasted like something I imagine you would dig out of a garbage can must taste. It was old and foul and just awful. The cheese wouldn’t melt in the microwave, and the crust looked like a stale cracker, and tasted as such. I actually tend to like the frozen brand of HRI pizza; it’s at the very least much better than the mess I was served.
The toasted ravioli was toasted so hard I felt like a dog wrestling with a bone trying to eat it. It’s supposed to have beef in the middle; yeah, if we are now calling odd pork-​ish like meat beef.
The chicken tenders were anything but tender; they should be renamed chicken stones. The blue cheese sauce was nothing but strange-​flavored glue.

Sometimes it’s best to placate the passenger riding shot gun in your car. My friend and I were on the way to an «event» and she needed sustenance. Not just any sustenance but her go-​to brand of pizza. She swears by Home Run Inn pizza; she will not eat anything else.
Well, okay. For me, it has been awhile since I’ve had Home Run Inn, so into the lot we went. I will say that the young woman handling the orders was amazingly personable, without any unnecessary up-​selling.
We both ordered a #1 to go. The screen shows a single slice but when we opened our boxes, we each had two. My cheese pizza was fine, though I received a regular Pepsi instead of diet.
The HRI fan next to me got the right drink, but felt her food was cold. What can you do, we were all ready rolling.
I have to hand it to the girl at the window, and this review has an extra star because of her. She may not have prepared the food, but she did a really nice job on customer service.
Home Run Inn still may not be my number one favorite pizza to end all pizzas, but what I had was A-​OK.

So. I have been bugging my son Nick to take me to
Home Run Inn for Pizza.
And. today. Nick finally caved in and off we went!
It has been many years since I have been to Home Run Inn.
in fact I was like 17 at my last visit. I am now 50.
You do the math. please be gentle.
Okay. I will admit I was a little disappointed in todays lunch visit.
I was really excited that Nick was taking his Mom so she could
have her blast from the past.
But. the pizza was mediocre at best but the deep fried ravioli
was really good.
Nick ordered cheesy garlic bread and when it arrived it was
like the size of a small pizza.
Nick seemed to like it so that was good!
There were some nice people working there today unfortunately
I have been in a bit of a funk and did not get their names so they
could get their props.
That is so unlike me.
I also had a nice big chocolate chip cookie.
I needed chocolate desperately. some say it has the same
effect on humans as. oh. you know the rest…
I will admit the prices were a bit steep.
But after all it is Home Run Inn.
So. my trip down memory lane was a bit of a let down.
But I did get to go down North Avenue to 1^st. Avenue where
Kiddieland used to be with the little dipper and my favorite
octopus ride.
Well. in Kiddielands spot there is now a damn Costco.
Boy. I’m batting a thousand here today.
Just one of those days.:(

The last time I ate at a HRI, it was about ten yrs ago at their Arlington Heights location, and it was a lunch buffet me and some co-​workers would hit up periodically. I’ve had their frozen pizza a few times but not too fond of that so prob just shoulda went with my gut and taken a pass on this.
This tasted pretty much exactly like their frozen version and that’s not such a good thing. Caveat Eator: one slice is actually two good sized slices but that just means double the bad so not a real positive.
It’s also on the expensive side as two «slices» and a pop rang in at over $ 10. Like yo, you can get a Hot n Ready for half that price!

Expensive and only marginally better than the frozen stuff.
For one good-​sized pizza, we paid $ 30+. For that amount, we could have gotten 4 – 5 of the frozen ones that sell at Jewel next door.
The difference in quality was simply not worth it. The sausage was good, but overall the pizza was greasy and the crust was sub-​par.
I’ll have to go to the original some time and see what all the hype is about, because I have a hard time believing this overpriced pizza (within 5 miles there are probably 10 – 15 pizza places better than this) is what the hype is about.

I figured it was definitely time to revisit this Home Run Inn Express given that *gasp* two people REMOVED their ‘Useful’ votes from my review. I haven’t experienced that before, so I figured that they must have had better experiences than me. As a result, it was my duty, my calling, my fate to give Home Run Inn Express another chance and review about it on Unilocal!
I’ll set the scene for you: similar pizza order as before, for carry out, paid online — basically, same scenario as last time. When we walked in the door to pick up our pizza, one employee standing at the door offered us a friendly hello. Then two of the girls standing at the counter asked what we needed; I have them my name, and they brought me my pizza. «You paid online, correct?» «Sure did.» Then she opened the pizza to show me what it looked like and told us to have a nice night. No signing the ticket or anything. No «Pizza Thieves» hollering, just a normal carry out experience.
I couldn’t have been more thrilled. My one complaint was that my pizza was cut into squares although I didn’t request that, but this is a rather small gripe given my last experience. My pizza is good (and almost gone), and I’m definitely willing to put this place back in the rotation of pizza joints I like to frequent.
Overall, I think it’s still a little pricey for 1 pizza ($ 30 for a 14 in with 5 toppings), but I’m willing to pay a little more for something I like. It seems like this place may have worked out some of its kinks and it’s definitely worth stopping in to pick up a tasty slice… or 8.