For most of the past four years, one of the most talked-about pizzas in the southwest suburbs has come out of a kitchen of about 250 square feet inside Gost Coffee at 1333 S. Schoolhouse Road. Pizza di Farfalla takes orders online and hands boxes over at the coffee shop. On nights when Hickory Creek Brewing's taproom is open next door, the crew will bring a pie right to your barstool.
That barstool is about to become the pizzeria's own. Hickory Creek owner Gary Meyer is retiring, and Pizza di Farfalla owner Giovanni "Gio" Oriente is taking over the taproom. The two shops already share a parking lot, a customer base and a delivery route, so the move looks simple. It still needed a special ruling from Will County, because the bar in that room exists only because a brewery was there first.
Two Shops That Grew Up Side by Side
Both businesses began smaller than they are now, and both started somewhere else.
- 2018: Hickory Creek Brewing opens in another New Lenox strip mall. Before that, Meyer brewed on his New Lenox Township property. The brewery's own site describes the spot as a historic milk house on the west bank of Hickory Creek.
- November 2022: Pizza di Farfalla starts as a part-time shop that opens only on Saturdays, then picks up pop-ups and private events.
- 2023: Hickory Creek moves to 1333 S. Schoolhouse Road, a space Meyer had wanted for years.
- 2024: Oriente leaves his job as a company's chief financial officer, ending an 18-year career in finance and accounting, to run the pizza business full time.
- June 2025: Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy visits for a "One Bite" review. Patch reported that the shop sold 700 pizzas starting the Wednesday after his visit, before the video was even out. When the review posted, Portnoy gave it a 7.9 and called it a "must-hit" and "worth the trip," according to Patch.
- June 2026: Meyer announces his retirement after eight years in business. "We have brewed our last batch, but we have plenty of beer to sell, so stop in while you can," the brewery posted, as Patch reported.
Pizza di Farfalla first sold carryout only through Gost. Hickory Creek became its second outlet later, so the brewery's bar was effectively the pizzeria's first dining room long before any lease changed hands. Oriente told Patch that he had heard about a year earlier that Meyer hoped to retire and sell. Once things started moving, the deal came together in "maybe a few days." He described the relationship this way:
"They've been part of our story, and we've been part of their story."
Why a Pizzeria Has to Look Like a Brewery on Paper
The property at 1333 S. Schoolhouse Road covers 20.03 acres zoned I-1, an industrial district, with 695 feet of frontage on Schoolhouse Road. It was first built for warehousing. Over time the front was leased to restaurants and bars, a coffee shop and a motorsport vehicle dealer, and a Will County staff report now calls that front section "a commercial strip mall on the front end of the industrial site."
County code allows craft breweries in I-1 by right, and it treats selling a brewery's own beer for on-site drinking as an allowed accessory use. A restaurant is also allowed by right. A restaurant selling liquor on the side is not. Frankfort Local reported that county staff spotted the issue while reviewing the commercial remodel permit Pizza di Farfalla filed on July 20, 2026. The fix was a special use permit for a use "similar or compatible" to craft brewing and distilling. No beer will be brewed there, but that brewery-like status is what allows a bar in this district.
The numbers in the application make it clear the room is meant to be a restaurant first. Will County defines a tavern as a place where prepared food brings in less than 65 percent of gross income. Pizza di Farfalla expects food to bring in 70 to 75 percent. The applicant describes the drinks as "a deliberately curated selection of craft beers, wines, spirits, and cocktails intended to complement the food menu," and says that's different from running a full-scale bar.
The parcel is in unincorporated New Lenox Township, so the county handles the zoning instead of a village. The Village of Frankfort declined to review the application, citing a March 2024 boundary agreement that puts land west of Scheer Road on the New Lenox side.
On Oct. 20, 2026, the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval. No votes against were recorded and no objectors appeared. Staff attached three conditions, including that the applicant get and keep a liquor license. The case, ZC-26-076, went on the county's Land Use & Development Committee agenda for Nov. 5. The final decision belongs to the full County Board, which acts on special uses by ordinance. The new use can't start until the Board acts and the building permit and certificate of occupancy are issued. The Will County Board's FY2026 schedule lists regular Board sessions on Nov. 19 and Dec. 17.
What the Bigger Room Changes
Oriente has said space wasn't the only limit. "That's really been our restriction, was refrigeration," he told Patch in June, adding that "everything we do is from scratch" with no freezers. The taproom's extra cold storage would let the menu grow to start with thin crust pizza, sandwiches made from the pizza dough, and salads. The application describes long-fermented dough, hand-stretched and made on site, served in a sit-down pizzeria.
The hours change too. Here are the hours Pizza di Farfalla posts now on its ordering page, next to the hours it proposed to the county for the taproom:
| Day | Current pickup hours at Gost Coffee | Proposed hours in the taproom |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | 3 to 10 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 3 to 8 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Wednesday and Thursday | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Friday and Saturday | 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
The proposal adds Monday service and two more hours on most nights. The application estimates 15 employees and about 100 customers a day. The 65 parking spaces built for the brewery are well above the 35 a restaurant needs, so the lot won't be expanded.
Ordering Until the Handoff
For now, the strip runs the way it has for a while, with a few changes.
- The taproom: Hickory Creek's website says the taproom is still open with guest beer and other liquor in stock, though it no longer brews its own. Meyer's team runs it for now, and the latest estimate for the handoff is by the end of November. The brewery warns that hours may be sporadic during training, staffing and renovation, so check its social media for when the bar is open.
- The pizza: Order through Pizza di Farfalla's Cashdrop page and pick up at Gost Coffee. To change an order, text 815-320-2655 with your order number. According to the brewery, the shop keeps operating next door and delivering pizza to the taproom throughout the transition.
- The coffee: Gost Coffee lists hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
A Second Address Down the Road in Mokena
The taproom is meant to be Pizza di Farfalla's home base, and it isn't the only expansion planned. WhatNow reported in February 2026 that Emerald Social Taps & Trucks was planned for 10020 W. 191st Street in Mokena, with Pizza di Farfalla among its food options. By June, Patch was reporting a permanent Pizza di Farfalla spot there, inside a venue planned with more than 100 indoor seats and a full-service bar that also serves the patio. The target opening was early 2027. The Emerald Social website still uses pre-opening language.
Local businesses like these are a big part of what makes a neighborhood feel like home, and following them is part of how we work at Niki Rocco. If you're in New Lenox and wondering what nearby changes like this mean for your own property, request a free home valuation and we'll give you a local read on your home's value.
