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Dove’s Luncheonette, the Wicker Park “Mex Tex” diner from One Off Hospitality, returns from its extended pandemic hiatus Monday morning, October 11, with indoor breakfast and lunch service and an updated menu.
Diners will still be able to enjoy dishes that have been Dove’s standards since it opened in 2014, including chicken fried chicken, burnt ends hash, and tequila and mezcal cocktails. New offerings will include masa pancakes, Oaxacan tamales, and a larger selection of non-alcoholic drinks for those who don’t feel comfortable boozing it up before 3 p.m. — its new closing time.
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As part of the reopening celebration, Dove’s will commandeer neighbor and sister restaurant Big Star’s taco truck at the Wicker Park farmer’s market at 10 a.m. on Sunday, October 10 to hand out free mini chicken fried chicken sandwiches (served on a brioche bun with pasilla salsa seca and a chorizo gravy dipper) to the first 250 people who stop by. Visitors can also scan a QR code to access to a Spotify playlist of music from the restaurant’s jukebox.
Closed for dining since March 2020, Dove’s had offered carryout service throughout the pandemic, but One Off Hospitality management liked to use the empty diner for meetings, chef and partner Paul Kahan writes in a statement. Passersby would frequently knock on the door and front windows to ask when it would open again.
In the future, Dove’s will continue to adapt to the pandemic with grab-and-go options for people who aren’t yet ready to dine in; next year, there will be a patio on Damen Avenue. Grab-and-go for Blue Line commuters was originally part of the plan when Dove’s first opened, but it has a slightly different purpose now.
As one of the smallest of One Off’s restaurants, Dove’s is the last to reopen post-quarantine: the Publican, Violet Hour, and both locations of Avec and Big Star have been serving diners for months. It recently suspended all carryout service in order to prepare for the reopening.
See the updated menu below.
Dove’s Luncheonette, 1545 N. Damen Avenue, Scheduled to reopen October 11, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
