Pizza Man Mourned
Restaurateur Louis Canelakes of Dallas favorite Louie's dies at 58
Louis Canelakes, owner of Louie's on Henderson Avenue in Dallas, died on Sunday November 10, at age 58. A friend of the family said Canelakes was in the hospital for pneumonia; the Dallas Morning Newsdescribed it as a lingering illness.
Before opening Louie's, Canelakes was a bartender at Joe Miller's on McKinney Avenue, in the space now occupied by The Loon.
Canelakes and his brother Chris opened Louie's in 1987, in the then-unsettled location of Henderson Avenue. Its thin-crust pizza and casual atmosphere made it a legendary hangout for journalists and local politicians, even despite the limited parking, taciturn staff, and policy of taking only cash or American Express.
Louie's got a welcome boost when it was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives in 2009. "The closest thing to real Chicago, thin-crust pizza that you're likely to find outside of Chicago," said one Facebook commenter. "Two guys from Waukegan come to Dallas and bring Chicago thin-crust pizza, what's not to like?" said another.
Canelakes was married and had triplets who are sophomores in college. Services have not yet been announced.