Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom opening in Independence, closing in Overland Park

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom plans to open one area location in October and close another.

It is scheduling a mid-to-late October opening at 4661 S. Cochise Court in Independence, near Slim Chickens.

But it also plans to close its Overland Park restaurant, at 11721 Metcalf Ave., on Oct. 7 after more than 13 years.

Rebecca Fischer, spokeswoman for parent company CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries Inc., with corporate offices in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Broomfield, Colo., said the Overland Park location came to the “natural end of its lease.”

“We had a really good run there,” she said.

Another CraftWorks brand, Rock Bottom Restaurant Brewery, had previously occupied the space, along with several other restaurants — Trotter’s Barbeque and More, Champps Americana, and Super Buffet. But CraftWorks’ latest Old Chicago prototype calls for a smaller footprint.

Old Chicago has 71 corporate-owned locations and 33 franchises in 24 states, including area locations in the Northland and Olathe. It is looking at additional area locations.

It serves made-from-scratch pizza and offers three crust types that are made in-house daily. Other menu items include twice-cooked chicken wings, Sicilian pepperoni rolls with house-made marinara sauce, Italian nachos, burgers and sandwiches, entree salads and pastas like spaghetti pie. It also has 30 beers on tap.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom opening in Independence, closing in Overland Park."