CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Calumet Fisheries, a historic restaurant on Chicago’s Far Southeast Side, reopened Saturday morning — a little more than six months after it was destroyed by an electrical fire.
“We’ve got new showcases; we’ve got new refrigerators, a new back walk-in, a walk-in freezer and a walk-in cooler,” said Calumet Fisheries Manager Javier Magallanes. “So, yeah, I’m excited to open.”
The smoked and fried fish restaurant goes back 76 years at the 95th Street Bridge over the Calumet River, and the business’ old photographs survived the fire.
Notable milestones include: a James Beard Award, an appearance in the “Blues Brothers” film and a feature in an Anthony Bourdain show.
Magallanes said customers who came with their parents are now bringing their grandchildren.
There’s no seating, nor are there any public bathrooms. Calumet Fisheries has a couple picnic tables, but most people eat on the lawn, in their cars, or go to the lakefront just down the street.
The little smokehouse next to the building — where the fish is smoked over oak logs — was not damaged in the fire.
“It's been a stressful six months but we’re looking forward to the future,” co-owner Mark Kotlic told WBBM.
The team said they were expecting to have the fish smoked by early afternoon. Everything else, though, was available in the morning. They were prepared for a crowd.
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