Wrigley BBQ Brings Unique Southern Cooking to Lake View

“Opening a restaurant is a lot harder than I remember.”

Wrigley BBQ at 3555 North Broadway is Creative Chef Jack Jones’ seventh restaurant venture in Chicago, serving up slow-cooked, southern-style dishes in a casual atmosphere. But he says this project may be the closest to his heart.

“I’m a little nervous now that we’re opening,” Jones said. “I’m more nervous now that I was opening the other six restaurants. I don’t know why. I think I have a different outlook on this one. I care more.”

Opening on Thursday, Wrigley BBQ is filling the space on North Broadway that Express Carry-Out & Delivery once occupied. Along with his brother Michael, Jones spent six months planning and developing a style of restaurant that he notes isn’t too common on the North Side.

“Nobody knows real barbeque up here… But when we were thinking about concepts in this area, there’s absolutely nothing like it."

And Jones doesn’t only want to feature southern barbecue dishes, he wants to make them even better. After visiting the South many times, the chef says he knows he could one-up the competition.

“My daughter goes to school in South Carolina, and my best friend is from Nashville, so I’ve just been down there a ton of times going to these barbeque joints,” Jones said. “But the thing is, they’re kind of dumpy, and the food is just okay. It just wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be… Every time I went, I would say, ‘I can do better.’”

That’s when Jones started learning about barbeque techniques. Paired with his wood-fired oven, he’s ready to introduce “real barbeque” to Lake View. The bone-in pork shoulder, coated in an 18-ingredient spice rub and cooked for 12 hours is just an example.

But this adventure is unlike any in his past. While Jones sold the majority of his other restaurants, he’s still a partner at Jack’s on Halsted, a fancier restaurant near the corner of Clark and Halsted streets. Wrigley BBQ, he says, will be different.

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“It’s fun cooking. It’s simple, and it’s fun,” said Jones. “When we opened Atlantique, we had truffle potatoes and upscale food. Someone said we should put truffle oil in our mac and cheese, and I’m not going to do that. It’s going to have basic cheeses, a creamy flavor, and be simple, good comfort food.”

With entrée’s and sandwiches averaging $10, it’ll be a change of pace for the chef. (See the full menu in the photo gallery above.)

Even the restaurant’s style is different. Similar to Noodles & Co. customers order once they walk in, take a number to a table and wait for the food to be served. Because Jones’ low-and-slow cook times, the food is already made and will be served in about 15 minutes.

“When you come in, you’ll get a number, and we’ll bring you your food,” Jones said. “There’s no waiter service. There’s no tips. So when you come in with friends and it’s $30, it doesn’t turn out to be $37. It’s economical.”

The restaurant will also have salads, burgers and soon even a fish choice for vegetarians or folks who simply don’t care for barbeque.

But overall, Jones says his barbeque will make a mark in Chicago.

“Nobody knows real barbeque up here,” Jones said. “…But when we were thinking about concepts in this area, there’s absolutely nothing like it. You couldn’t do another Italian place, but there’s nothing this unique to the area.”

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