Once a service representative for Chicago Brick Oven, Chris Marston brought his work home with him.
“At one point we had five or six pizza ovens in the backyard, all different models,” he said.
In addition to firing up those ovens, wrapping pizzas and delivering them to their neighbors in Hanover Park, Chris and his wife, Michelle, would make Halloween pizzas for the hobbyists and their parents.
“We’d pull the pizza ovens out front and people would walk by and eat pizza in the driveway,” Michelle Marston said.
Achieving their dream of opening a restaurant, they are now serving people more traditionally with the recent opening of Legends Pizza in Carol Stream.
The establishment on N. Gary Ave. 158 has a full bar and is available for dine-in, delivery and takeout.
Legends is a family affair with daughters Natalie and Sonya and son Christopher also playing supporting roles for the restaurant.
Legends aren’t brick ovens, but a carousel that cooks 12-, 14- and 16-inch thin-crust pizzas at 550 degrees. The pizzas are also available in “gluten-friendly” and double-crust options.
“Get them in, get them out and make the dough crispy,” said Chris Marston, who said his grandfather was a former executive chef at The Berghoff in Chicago during its heyday.
The pizza sauce — Marston’s key to pizza along with the crust — is a combination of recipes from both his grandmother and his wife’s grandmother.
Recipes are personal to Marstons.
The Chicken Caesar Pizzalata at Legends Pizza in Carol Stream is a cold pie with romaine lettuce drizzled with Caesar dressing, grated Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken and crumbled croutons.
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“My homemade tiramisu, I make it from scratch too,” Michelle Marston said. “It’s light, fluffy and airy, not thick, thick or runny. I am very particular.”
The restaurant offers a range of regular and specialty pizzas, including Veggie Lover and Backyard BBQ, ribs, pasta, sandwiches, salads and entrees – including a garlic bread starter that “was a huge hit,” Michelle Marston said.
The menu includes unique selections such as the Italian Sausage Burger, the Breaded Steak Sandwich with Parmesan, the 12-inch S’mores Dessert Pizza, and their “Pizzalata” Pizzas.
Available in chicken Caesar, BLT and homemade styles, the Pizzalata has a layer of thin dough made with a little pizza sauce, quickly chilled and topped with ingredients.
The legendary Bloody Mary, available from 11am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, has to be seen to be believed.
The Marstons are Bloody Mary connoisseurs and have created one that is both a cocktail and a meal: a house-made Bloody Mary mix with celery, olives, fried pickles, mozzarella sticks, bacon, chicken fingers, meatballs, onion rings, ribs, small pizza and a mini burger with sausages.
With a capacity of up to 70 people, the restaurant has a comfortable feel in an L-shaped configuration with tables and high tops along the display and side wall.
The quartz-topped bar offers seating and has multiple television monitors and an electronic jukebox.
“Customers who have been here love the family atmosphere and have been here many times,” Chris Marston said.
“We’re attracting a lot of new people,” he said. “But the people who have been here since the first week have been here three, four times since then. They love it and try to go through the menu one item at a time.”
Chris and Michelle Marston and their daughter Natalie, left, pose with a few menu items at Legends Pizza in Carol Stream.
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