For some reason, I'm craving a White Castle
and so are the landmark preservationists
03/02/2011 1:30 PM
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Ok, so let me get this straight. Chef Luciano (a great restaurant I have never been to and have been meaning to try for more than a decade) used to be at 49 E. Cermak.
But now, it's officially a bit west in an 80-year-old White Castle building (#16, to be exact) at 43 E. Cermak, which used to be Pollo al Carbon.
Chef Luciano owner Dave Gupta moved west into that building and restored it, making it look like a real White Castle. But there is a real White Castle--complete with all the little hamburgers you'd want in little cardboard boxes--right across the street at 2140 S. Wabash, right?
Got that? That's the story that architecture expert, historian and writer Lee Bey tells here in a lot more detail and with good pictures. The good news is that Chef Luciano has applied for landmark status for his new digs. Stay tuned. It's always touch and go in Chicago when it comes to appreciation for old, significant and sentimental buildings. No one can explain that better than Preservation Chicago, which lists here the seven most recently threatened historical buildings that may be annihilated in our (very) fair city.
added March 5, 2011:
This is from Rocky Gupta, whose family owns all the property spoken of above.... It is a confusing set-up over there on Cermak and everyone who's written about it, including Google maps, Yelp, and every journalist I've read on the subject has it a little different. Here is the scoop--straight from the horse's mouth!
Bonnie,
I saw your write up in the South Loop Observer - thanks for taking the time to write about us.
I just wanted to try to clear up some of the confusion on this topic. My family has owned the building from 43 - 51 E Cermak since the mid 1980's. We originally opened Gourmet Chicken at the corner store (the White Castle building) in 1982. In 1992, we opened the Chef Luciano restaurant a little to the east at 49 E. Cermak.
Technically, there was never a restaurant called Pollo al Carbon, it was always Gourmet Chicken. It was just a short-sighted effort by my dad to put up Pollo Al Carbon signs in an effort to promote the roasted chicken business that we added to our existing menu at Gourmet Chicken.
So, Chef Luciano is still at 49 E. Cermak and Gourmet Chicken is still at 43 E. Cermak, with two different menus at two different restaurants owned by the same family. Confused yet? Because I am and I lived through it.
Feel free to stop on by and introduce yourself and I can clear it up. It's a little easier to figure out when you see it in person.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Rocky Gupta
I saw your write up in the South Loop Observer - thanks for taking the time to write about us.
I just wanted to try to clear up some of the confusion on this topic. My family has owned the building from 43 - 51 E Cermak since the mid 1980's. We originally opened Gourmet Chicken at the corner store (the White Castle building) in 1982. In 1992, we opened the Chef Luciano restaurant a little to the east at 49 E. Cermak.
Technically, there was never a restaurant called Pollo al Carbon, it was always Gourmet Chicken. It was just a short-sighted effort by my dad to put up Pollo Al Carbon signs in an effort to promote the roasted chicken business that we added to our existing menu at Gourmet Chicken.
So, Chef Luciano is still at 49 E. Cermak and Gourmet Chicken is still at 43 E. Cermak, with two different menus at two different restaurants owned by the same family. Confused yet? Because I am and I lived through it.
Feel free to stop on by and introduce yourself and I can clear it up. It's a little easier to figure out when you see it in person.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Rocky Gupta
Co-Owner, Chef Luciano & Gourmet Chicken