Mr. Beef
Restaurant in Chicago
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mr. Beef is an Italian beef restaurant located in River North, Chicago, United States.[1][2][3]
| Mr. Beef | |
|---|---|
Mr. Beef from street level, as of September 2022. | |
 Interactive map of Mr. Beef | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1979 |
| Previous owner | Joe Zucchero |
| Food type | Italian beef |
| Location | 666 N Orleans St, Chicago, Illinois, 60654, USA |
Information
The restaurant was founded by Joe Zucchero and originally started out as a stand in 1979.[1] The restaurant features Italian beef sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and pizza puffs.[4][5] The restaurant survived financial troubles in 2009.[6]
The restaurant is most notable for being the inspiration and the storefront[7] for the television series The Bear, which is about an Italian beef restaurant in Chicago.[8] Christopher Storer, the producer of the show, cites Chris Zucchero, Joe Zucchero's son, as a friend.[8] The television series more than doubled business at the store, as they went from selling 300 sandwiches a day to over 800.[9] The owner of Mr. Beef, Joe Zucchero, died on March 1, 2023,[10] though the restaurant stayed open after his death.[1][11][12]
In popular culture
Along with being featured on The Bear, the restaurant was featured on Food Wars, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno[13][14] The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,[15] and Rick Sebak's Sandwiches That You Will Like.
