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Pizza near Northern Illinois University

13pizza places within 1 mile
7within a ten-minute walk
31%independent, not chains

Open map listings put 13 pizza places within a mile of Northern Illinois University, 7 of them within a ten-minute walk, and 19 within 3 miles. The busiest street is Lincoln Hwy (9).

The closest pizza places to Northern Illinois University

Chosen local-first, then listed by distance from campus: a starting point, not a ranking. Listings from Overture Maps open data (September 2026); they carry no prices or opening hours, so check before you go.

Can't decide between them? Say what you're craving and Savor Scout picks one near Dekalb, IL.

What to order

  • Neapolitan — Soft, fast-baked at around 900°F, eaten with a knife and fork, centre deliberately wet. Margherita is the test — nothing to hide behind.
  • New York — Large, thin, foldable, sold by the slice. Judge it by the fold: it should bend without cracking and hold without flopping.
  • Detroit — Rectangular, thick, baked in a steel pan with cheese to the edges so it caramelises into a crust against the wall of the pan. That edge is the entire point.
  • Tavern / Chicago thin — Cracker-thin, cut into squares, a Midwestern tradition largely unknown elsewhere and excellent.

How to spot a good one

  • The crust edge tells you the oven — Leoparding — irregular dark blisters on the rim — means a very hot oven and a properly fermented dough, and it is the signature of good Neapolitan. An even golden-brown rim means a cooler deck oven, which is what New York style wants. Uniform pale crust with no colour variation usually means a conveyor oven.
  • Dough that was fermented, not just mixed — Long-fermented dough tastes of something on its own and has an open, irregular crumb when you tear the rim. Dough made that morning tastes of flour and is uniformly dense. Places that mention 48- or 72-hour dough are telling you something real.
  • Restraint with the toppings — Overloading is the most common failure, because moisture from too many toppings steams the base. Good pizzerias put three things on a pie, not nine.

The whole picture is in the pizza guide.

Questions about pizza places near Northern Illinois University

How many pizza places are near Northern Illinois University?
Open map listings put 13 pizza places within a mile of Northern Illinois University, 7 of them within a ten-minute walk, and 19 within 3 miles. About 31% are independent rather than chains.
Which pizza places are closest to Northern Illinois University?
Pizza Hut (0.2 mi), Pagliali's Pizza (0.2 mi), Pizza Villa (0.3 mi), Toppers Pizza (0.3 mi) and Domino's (0.3 mi).
Where are most pizza places near Northern Illinois University?
The busiest street is Lincoln Hwy (9).

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