Uno pizza promotion aims to help US troops

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Uno Chicago Grill, the Boston-based restaurant chain that is participating in a pizza airlift to US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan , said that it will also offer a special buy-one-get-one-free type promotion to its restaurant customers to mark the Fourth of July.

Most of Uno's roughly 200 restaurants will offer "a free individual deep dish or flatbread pizza with the purchase of an entrée of equal or greater value to all guests who dine at Uno on July 4th," the chain said in a press release. "The free pizza offer allows guests to join in celebrating the World's Largest Pizza Party in Iraq and Afghanistan with our troops, who will be enjoying the same deep-dish pizzas."

(Let's be clear: This offer does not apply to take-out pizza in the United States.)

As readers of this space may recall, Uno has partnered with a nonprofit organization called "Pizzas 4 Patriots" that looks to distribute about 28,000 pizzas to US troops in war zones to help them celebrate Independence Day.

Plans call for some of the pizzas to be personally delivered by Uno chief executive Frank Guidara, a Vietnam veteran.

The initiative is dubbed "Operation Pizza Surge," and DHL Worldwide delivery service is a participant.

Participating Uno locations have been asking patrons to add $4 donations to their checks to help support Operation Pizza Surge, the chain said in a previous press release.

The photo of the pizza that appears with this post was taken from Uno's website.