Vienna Beef opening $20M plaza in Chicago’s Bucktown

A $20 million Vienna Beef Plaza is coming to Chicago.

Vienna Beef, the company best known for the iconic Chicago-style hot dog, announced plans Tuesday to redevelop its former home in the Bucktown neighborhood into a new restaurant and corporate headquarters with retail stores and an outdoor gathering space.

“Vienna Beef has long imagined what possibilities exist at our former factory location, where Vienna was in operation since the early 1970s,” said Vienna Beef senior vice president Tom McGlade in a statement.

The former factory cafe originally served as a cafeteria for employees. Once open to the public, it became a favorite for lunch at affordable prices. The attached retail store offered everything needed to make Chicago-style hot dogs at home, from the increasingly elusive natural casing dogs by the pound, to kosher dills available by the pickle or 5-gallon bucket.

The company will plant 80 trees and hundreds of plants for a “lush garden feel” on the site of its former factory, the company said, for “an opportunity to host indoor and outdoor events.” The redeveloped space is set to open in spring 2024.

“Our community is excited to see Vienna Beef reinvest in the neighborhood by adaptively reusing the original Vienna headquarters,” said Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, whose ward includes the Vienna Beef site.

The 150,000-square-foot development will also include a big-box store, other retail shops and more than 200 parking spaces.

The new restaurant will display memorabilia from Vienna Beef’s 130-year history. A company museum opened for its 125th anniversary in 2018, but closed in 2020.

Samuel Ladany and Emil Reichel introduced their family frankfurter recipe at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. The brothers-in-law and Austrian-Hungarian Jewish immigrants founded Vienna Beef the same year. The original recipe is still used, according to the company.

The factory moved from the North Side to the South Side in 2015. The Vienna Beef Factory Store, the company’s fast-food restaurant in Bridgeport, opened in 2016. The former Factory Store and Café in Bucktown closed in 2020. The Bridgeport factory and restaurant will remain open, the company said.

The new restaurant will be more upscale than a cafeteria, according to a spokesperson, with fast-casual counter service “more conducive to an in-person dining experience.” The menu will again feature classic Chicago-style Vienna Beef items, with more details closer to opening.

Eat. Watch. Do.

Weekly

What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life … now.

The iconic Chicago-style hot dog starts with a steamed poppy-seed bun, then purists say a natural casing Vienna Beef frankfurter, topped with yellow mustard, neon green relish, chopped white onions, red tomato wedges, a kosher dill pickle spear and hot sport peppers, all finished with a dash of celery salt.

The former North Side location was once a quiet corner on a light industrial corridor. Now the site stands at the epicenter of commercial development. Costco is across the North Branch of the Chicago River, and the four-star hotel at the Midtown Athletic Club is kitty-corner across Elston Avenue.

Approximately 50 employees are scheduled to move from current offices in Fulton Market and Bridgeport at the end of this year to Vienna Beef Plaza, the company said.

Vienna Beef Plaza, 2501 N. Damen Ave., viennabeef.com

lchu@chicagotribune.com

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.