Although Revival Food Hall is always a popular destination for Loop lunchers, the grand opening of Hot Chi last month kicked things into overdrive.
A line extended around the block as customers hungered for a taste of the South Side-born chicken concept. And while many were drawn in by the mouthwatering menu, others were there specifically seeking out halal food.
Hot Chi’s chicken sandwiches are zabiha-halal, which means they comply with an Islamic dietary standard many Muslims choose to follow. It’s a category many Chicagoland Muslims — and non-Muslims prioritizing higher-quality meals — are seeking out more frequently, leading to a rise in halal food in the city and suburbs.
The growth parallels the burgeoning Muslim population in Illinois, which became the largest per capita in the United States last year and is one of the country’s most diverse and fastest-growing faith communities.
It also reflects the global surge in halal food, a market expected to nearly double by 2028, according to a January report by market research firm IMARC Group. Zabihah, an online database of halal restaurants and markets, began with 200 halal restaurants and markets in the U.S. back in 1998. This year, it’s up to more than 15,000, with over 600 in Illinois — from outposts of The Halal Guys to new additions such as Hot Chi and Atomic Wings.
On holidays like Eid al-Adha, which begins Wednesday, the rise in halal food options makes it easier for Muslims to celebrate the day’s spirit of sharing with loved ones and community. And for health-conscious non-Muslims, the halal standards for meat — animals are fed vegetarian diets and can’t be treated with antibiotics or growth hormones, for a start — make it clearer what’s ending up on the plate.
Hot Chi opened in Revival Food Hall (125 S. Clark St., hot-chi.net) in late May, after the owners opened in the Chatham neighborhood (100 W. 87th St.) and at From Here On, the food hall at the Old Post Office in the West Loop (433 W. Van Buren St.).
The first Hot Chi opened in 2021, said Amer Abdullah, one of the owners of Hot Chi along with his brother, Mutaz Abdullah, and Kinan Moufti, a family friend.
“We like to say Hot Chi was born in Nashville but raised on the South Side,” Amer Abdullah said. “It’s kind of got a fun South Side vibe to it.”
In preparation for the grand opening of their third location, the team began posting TikToks, and one went viral, gaining Hot Chi a devoted following.
“It was both exhilarating and stressful,” Amer Abdullah said.
The Abdullah family has been in the restaurant business for three decades, he said, and Hot Chi was developed from a recipe he and his partners experimented with at the family’s South Side restaurant, Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen, 1206 E. 53rd St. When his father died in 2019, Abdullah took over running the Hyde Park restaurant and began tweaking the menu.
A fried chicken wrap became a sandwich with harissa glaze, sumac-dusted onions, pickles and a creamy toum garlic sauce, all between a soft yet substantial brioche bun.
The sandwich was a hit, so the brothers and Moufti decided to build a new restaurant around it. They gave their chicken sandwich an expletive-laced name suggesting it’s better than Popeyes in hopes of competing locally with national brands.
They also created the Hot Honey Butta’ chicken sandwich, which Abdullah said is “quite special” because of its sweet and spicy nature. Both are Hot Chi’s signature sandwiches and both are halal.
The tenders are the only menu item at Hot Chi that are not halal, Amer Abdullah said, because they have yet to find a halal supplier for tenders with prices low enough to keep them affordable for Hot Chi’s customers.
Abdullah said it was important to the team that some, if not all, of the menu should be halal. Zabiha meat comes from an animal that was hand-slaughtered in the name of God, instead of machine-cut, in a way that aims to ensure the animal does not suffer and is treated humanely. Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible” and refers to foods and other products — from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals — allowed in Islam.
“Amid all of the zeitgeist around vegan and vegetarian, I found that what the Prophet (Muhammad) and God taught us 1,400 years ago was such a wonderful balance between treating animals well while still being able to sacrifice them for our human consumption for us to survive and live,” Amer Abdullah said. “Specifically, being very careful in how they are slaughtered but also, most importantly, saying a prayer before, became a very important value to myself, and I shared that with Kinan and Mutaz.”
Current market options for the “perfect hand-slaughtered” halal meat would end with chicken sandwiches at Hot Chi priced over $20 each, so for now, they source from vendors who use machines with a method that closely mirrors halal standards and still meets some of Hot Chi’s values.
Along with chicken sandwiches and tenders, Hot Chi also serves a salad and loaded Cheat Day Fries, which come topped with macaroni-and-cheese sauce, Alabama white barbecue sauce, hot honey butter and a chopped-up chicken tender — “not something you’d recommend eating every day,” Amer Abdullah said.
Signature drinks are made in-house, Abdullah said. Freshly squeezed lemonade is mixed with watermelon juice to create the Watermelon Sugar drink, and Peachy Sweet Tea features hints of ginger and mint.
Nearby at Revival Food Hall, LaShuk Street Food also serves halal meat, said Tim Wickes, director of food operations for 16″ on Center. The company also runs the From Here On food hall, where Saffron Street and Flo’s Taqueria have halal options.
Atomic Wings, another chicken place exploding on the North Side, opened in Avondale’s Food Pick Up in Elston Plaza (3517 N. Spaulding Ave., 312-910-9464, atomicwings.com) in January. It’s Chicago’s first location of the famous wing brand hailing from New York.
Franchise owner Kavita Venkatesh said she is operating from a takeout- and delivery-only kitchen, but she’ll be opening restaurants with full kitchens and house-made lemonade near the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in October, and suburban Rosemont early next year.
She also hopes to expand the menu at the bigger locations, with plans to add salads and wraps to the mix.
Atomic Wings specializes in fresh, made-to-order wings, tenders and sandwiches, Venkatesh said. Wings are soaked overnight in a wet brine, then hand-breaded and fried before they’re tossed in one of 14 signature sauces or dry rubs, from a lighter garlic Parmesan to fiery mango habanero, atomic and nuclear sauces.
Atomic Wings is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., which Venkatesh said has worked in their favor, as they stay busy catering to late-night crowds.
Venkatesh has worked in the restaurant industry for years, often for national chains or franchises. She was looking for something different in the fast-casual space and started looking into chicken before landing on Atomic Wings.
“I tried the product and really liked it,” she said. “We’re doing hormone-free, halal, fresh chicken, and the food is really good, so we wanted to bring this concept to Chicago.”
Venkatesh said all Atomic Wings locations serve halal meat, and it is particularly important for her to maintain that quality of product. She said she makes sure vendors are certified and follow halal meat guidelines.
“Chicken is sold everywhere,” she said. “This is more specific. Why would anyone go organic, you know? Because it has its own benefits, right? Halal has its own benefits, and it’s a better product for all our customers.”
Vipul Parekh, director of operations, said the Avondale location has been “extremely busy” since opening, especially in the past few months. The wing shop already has some regulars, and is getting new customers every week, he said.
“Our brand is also new in Chicago, so we want more awareness, and we want people to get to know and love our brand so everyone knows Atomic Wings,” Venkatesh said.
She said they saw a boom in business on Super Bowl Sunday, when they were so busy, they had to stop taking orders for about an hour just to catch up. Although many customers are Muslim, there are a lot of non-Muslims who also return to Atomic Wings, she said.
“The feedback has been: They like the food, they like the flavor, they’re coming back — and not just our Muslim community, but it is everybody,” Venkatesh said. “We don’t want people to think we are advertising for only one kind of customer because our food is really good and it’s for everybody. Chicken is for everybody.”
sahmad@chicagotribune.com
