Famed Corned Beef Factory Plans Millennium Park Location Sandwich Shop

Chicago takes their corned beef seriously, and few in the city make tastier sandwiches than Corned Beef Factory near Fulton Market. Getting over to the small space is difficult for downtown workers, as the sandwich shop closes daily at 3 p.m. That won’t be as big of a challenge anymore, as the Corned Beef Factory is opening a second location, across the street from Millennium Park.

Crain’s reported that owner Ted Lagios is taking over the space between Toni Patisserie & Cafe and Fornelli Tower apartments on Washington, just west of Michigan Avenue. The downtown location will be similar to the original at 1009 W. Lake St. and feature the house-cured corned beef and pastrami on Reubens and other sandwiches (like the Tom & Jerry pastrami/corned beef hybrid). It will also serve hot dogs and Italian beefs.

The downtown location will also accept credit cards, unlike the original, as it’s hard to see a cash-only business flourishing off Michigan Avenue. The Lake Street location was mostly for carry outs with limited seating. There won’t be a lot of seats inside the new location either, so expect the restaurant to be a popular destination for diners who want to spend their lunch hour in the park.

The new restaurant should open sometime after spring. While Manny’s remains the most well-known purveyor of corned beef in the city, Corned Beef Factory is a mighty challenger. And on today, Election Day, Chicagoans are reminded that it’s great to have choices.