CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – A Vienna Beef staple in the West Loop will close its doors Tuesday afternoon after more than 30 years of feeding factory workers, politicians, media types and just about everyone in between.
Fast Track sits along the “L” tracks at Lake and Des Plaines streets. A train set runs along the ceiling and there are massive train wheels outside.
“I love this place,” an emotional Chef Kleo, who came to Chicago from Greece and has been behind the counter for 25 years, told WBBM Newsradio. "What I love most is the people. This is like a family to me.”
Chef Kleo is a storyteller and he admitted maybe 5% of his stories are true.
“Kleo has said it all,” owner Eddie Tefka said.
Tefka and his wife, Bonnie, opened Fast Track more than 30 years ago when the neighborhood was very different.
“Primarily our customer base was office and wholesalers and factory workers,” Tefka told WBBM Newsradio, calling the closing bittersweet.
Tefka sold the property and an eight-story residential and commercial building is planned for the site.
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