OK, it looks like for real this time. The long-awaited and oft-delayed chicken and waffles restaurant on Madison Street in Oak Park looks like it should open by the end of this month.
Tonya Johnson and her family have been working for more than a year, turning a vacant insurance office at 543 Madison into the second location of Chicago’s Home of Chicken & Waffles (the first one’s in Bronzeville). But the project has been marred by construction delays, as it was originally supposed to open as far back as spring 2009. Johnson and her family decided to be a little more ambitious in their build out than originally planned — adding everything from exposed brick walls to fancy chandeliers.
“The design in there is a lot different from what people might expect in a soul food restaurant,” she said. “It’s going to be nice.”
Worst-case scenario, Chicken & Waffles will open by the first week in December. The sit-down restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Besides the signature dish, they’ll offer other soul food staples, such as macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and candied yams.
