CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago’s famous “Tamale Guy", Claudio Velez, is reportedly opening his first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Ukrainian Village.
Block Club Chicago reports the restaurant, located at 2018 W. Chicago Ave., could open as soon as next month.
Velez, and his business partner, Pierre Vega, leased a storefront near the corner of Damen and Chicago avenues in July.
Vega, a longtime customer of Velez, told Block Club he went into business with Velez to help him realize his lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant.
“He’s been super, super excited...He’s just ready to get back to work, to start making tamales again,” Vega said. “We’ll be able to feed all the hungry, hungry people some tamales.”
Velez has been selling tamales out of his red and blue coolers to bar patrons on the North Side for nearly 20 years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began and bars were forced to shut down, Velez lost his livelihood. At first, he tried to keep business going, offering home delivery, but city officials presented him with a cease-and-desist letter in May.
After the news of the cease-and-desist letter was reported, fans came together and raised more than $34,000 in a GoFundMe fundraiser. He is using that money to open his first restaurant.
“I am very excited, especially with everyone who helped make this dream possible,” Velez told Block Club in Spanish. “This has always been my dream.”
Vega said they are still deciding what the name of the restaurant will be, but he said it will likely have some iteration of “The Tamale Guy".
In addition to tamales, Velez plans on expanding the menu to include traditional Acapulco dishes, such as his mother’s braised beef taco recipe.
Vega's wife, Kristin, will run the front of the house. She said the restaurant will offer indoor seating, but in an effort to limit customers’ exposure to COVID-19, the tamale shop will initially only allow seating in the back patio. She said she expects a rush of orders upon opening and hopes customers will be understanding as the small team begins cooking. Ordering ahead, either by phone or online, will be helpful, she told Block Club.
A website and social media accounts for the business are coming soon. In the meantime, customers can reach the business by calling 773-697-3661.