Panther in the Den wrote:They are closed for remodeling and should be open in a week or so.

Out for a Sunday Drive with my bride and happened to be heading up Cicero so we stopped for a few photos and some intel...

4.66 for a italian sausage with fries and pop is a steal.

I'll do a Home Depot run just for that.

Drove by last night and they have fixed up the place like a shiny new penny.

New paint, signs. Godda give it a try sometime soon!

I noticed that they were open today when I drove past. Has anyone tried the food yet? I noticed they are offering gyros now.

Cogito wrote:I noticed that they were open today when I drove past. Has anyone tried the food yet? I noticed they are offering gyros now.

I did stop by about a week ago, for a taste, on an urge after a dinner downtown.

The beef comes in halfway between Al's and Mr Beef as far as (weaker) flavor goes and the meat a tad tough. Sweet peppers good! Sandwich a good size for the price and all sandwiches come with large order of (mushy) fries.

I remember Margie's from a log time ago where the juice would have a red tint and a touch of heat. This latest incarnation had none of the old. Pretty much standard.




Beef with sweet, wet


Note the 'Mother in Law'!


Note 'Hand Formed Burgers'!
Menu Boards


Fancy Graphic!

Looks like it is part of a local chain now.

What's the Beef
1863 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago
(773) 477-7200‎

Street View

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it is part of a local chain now.

What's the Beef
1863 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago
(773) 477-7200‎

Street View

What's the Beef at that location closed, and was replaced by Franks 'n Dawgs.

gleam wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it is part of a local chain now.

What's the Beef
1863 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago
(773) 477-7200‎

Street View

What's the Beef at that location closed, and was replaced by Franks 'n Dawgs.

Maybe we know where they moved to now.

Hey! That's the new gourmet hot dog stand!

Panther in the Den wrote:

gleam wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Looks like it is part of a local chain now.

What's the Beef
1863 N Clybourn Ave, Chicago
(773) 477-7200‎

Street View

What's the Beef at that location closed, and was replaced by Franks 'n Dawgs.

Maybe we know where they moved to now.

Hey! That's the new gourmet hot dog stand!

I think this might actually be the case. Interesting stuff. Whats the Beef closed about 3-4 months ago and as mentioned above is replaced by Franks N Dawgs. I havent made it to FND yet but I will one day soon since its pretty close to me. I dont like the fact they use Boars Head Hot Dogs so I'll stay away from those and order one of their specialty made sausages. Aside from the fries Whats the Beef was never any good and I gave it a few tries over the years.

I was guessing Margie's just bought that sign from them but now that I recall how the beef tasted back then and when comparing ReneG's pic of a Margies beef and mine from Whats the Beef, they look pretty damn similar down to the hot peppers. Also WTB had meatballs and gravy bread and hand formed burgers on their menu. Definitely no Mother In Laws though.

Rene G wrote:Margie's Beef, one of Chicago's oldest and best beef stands, closed its doors over five years ago. I'm not sure how old it was; one sign said 1945, another claimed 1927. I tend to believe 1945, consistent with the entry in Pat Bruno's Chicago's Food Favorites. A few months ago Margie's reopened under new management. For whatever it's worth the new signs say 1927.





Margie's has been completely redone but retains its classic no-nonsense hot dog stand feel. Concrete floor, bare steel walls and counter, red and yellow accents. In a word, perfect.



Food is served in Burger King bags, just like at one of Chicago's finest doggeries.



Margie's does a lot of things right but unfortunately beef is no longer their strong point. Somewhat tough, not great flavor, soggy roll. I thought the slightly sour giardiniera was great though.

Beef with hot from Whats the Beef (closed)

I havent been to the reopened Margies but was there when they reopened, only to close again, a while back. The beef described above by Panther is exactly how I remember Whats the Beef's. I will get back for a MIL and to find out exactly what a "sloppy gravy bread" is. I'll order a gravy bread at any place I see it on the menu and I've never seen a sloppy one on any. Its obv. more than just a gravy bread 'cause $2.50 is too much for one. Anyone know what it is? My best guess is a gravy bread with either sloppy Joe mix or chili in it. I think WTB might of also had sloppy Joes on their menu but cant say that for sure.

Edited to add: Now that I look at those menu signs in the pic above, those are the exact same ones they had at WTB. I would say that WTB moved into Margies and kept the name or something along those lines.

Whats the Beefs old menu...pretty similar to the new Margies.

"Its obv. more than just a gravy bread 'cause $2.50 is too much for one. Anyone know what it is?"

Yeah, it's gravy bread, but it comes with the free order of fries that go with all sandwiches.

Cogito wrote:"Its obv. more than just a gravy bread 'cause $2.50 is too much for one. Anyone know what it is?"

Yeah, it's gravy bread, but it comes with the free order of fries that go with all sandwiches.

Gotcha, do the fries come in the bread? like the french fry sandwich from Fran's? I guess a gravy bread is pretty sloppy and not something you wanna eat while driving.


Fry Sandwich from Fran's, a favorite of the nearby grade school kids ($1.80)

Da Beef wrote:

Cogito wrote:"Its obv. more than just a gravy bread 'cause $2.50 is too much for one. Anyone know what it is?"

Yeah, it's gravy bread, but it comes with the free order of fries that go with all sandwiches.

Gotcha, do the fries come in the bread? like the french fry sandwich from Fran's? I guess a gravy bread is pretty sloppy and not something you wanna eat while driving.

Can't say, I didn't try it. I had a Polish. It was pretty good, the fries were pretty good too.

We reopened Margie's Beef at 1334 N Cicero Ave. We are aware of how Margie's of 2008 and 2010 disappointed people or did not meet the standards expected. In late February of 2015, after 5 months of cleaning and setting up we reopened.
My husband and me are the new owners, nothing to do with the old recipes, ways of presenting food and cooking. If you had a negative experience at Margie's you want you to visit it again and try any of the offerings. We are confident you will enjoy the food. We slow braise top sirloin beef, home made chili, fresh ingredients, rib eye Philly cheesesteaks, 5:1 hot dogs, polish, caramelized onions to top anything you choose, pulled pork, pork chop sandwich, turkey meatball sandwich and many more items. Yelp reviews are 4 star and Facebook has some great feedback. Come on down and enjoy! Bring a friend.

A little late of a response LOL. Margie's is open under new management.

Nice profile of Maria and Jay Feldman and their business in "The Next Day" feature in the Trib. Hopefully not behind a pay wall. Link here.

A lot of the neighborhood hasn't patronized us yet, but some do," Maria said. "Food is food. I make great homemade chili. We spent a lot more than we should on beef. It's all home-cooked. Black or white has nothing to do with taste buds.

Hi Maria, always looking for a new beef sandwich to try. Thanks for the update, I'll be around there this weekend so I'll try to stop in.

Appears that Jay and Maria Feldman couldn't make a go of it with Margie's. Stopped by on Wednesday to find it all locked up and deserted. Phone not working. It's a shame as I believe that they put their heart and soul into this place. I felt the food was great my favorites being the deep fried polish an exceptional beef sandwich and the thin cut fries cooked in olive oil. I feel they would have been successful in a different location.

Open again...

The Original Margies Beef Stand ON NORTH AVE.
4948 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 747-7500



Haven't stopped in yet...

Interesting history...

http://delprincipefamilytree.com/chicag ... andwiches/

Wish I had read this latest update. I was on North and Kedzie today, and I ended up going to Joe Boston's for a beef. It was really good, but I would have preferred to try Margie's.

My thanks to Panther in the Den. It's fascinating to see the links to well-known IB stands -- Lukes and Jays -- stemming from Margie's.

I have fond memories of Margie's at Cicero & Kamerling going back to the 1960s.

My question is does anyone know who now owns / operates the Original Margie's Beef Stand on North Avenue?

Seems like this is three stores in one, Margie's Beef, Wing House and Maxwell Street. Last time I was in the Cicero ave store I mentioned the sign on North Ave to Jay (at the time there was only one small sign) all he said was that it was BS and dropped the subject and was visibly unhappy about it. Next time I went back they were gone.

Panther in the Den wrote:Open again...

The Original Margies Beef Stand ON NORTH AVE.
4948 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 747-7500

WP_20160716_001.jpg

Haven't stopped in yet...

Stopped by for lunch yesterday. At noon thirty I was the only one there.

Got the beef and a dog for My Bride.

Beef = Not too tender, salty with spiciness in the gravy. I was hoping the gravy would have that wonderful red tint that the original had on the West side of Cicero ave but no. They do cook their own beef.

Talking to the owner and he said his father was the one who bought Margie's from Margie back in '72. Worked it for 20 years and got out. He also said Margie had involvement in almost all of the area beef stands, Carm's, etc. About 10 different stands were all owned by the same family.

If business picks up maybe they will improve?

Pic's later as they are on My Bride's phone.

Panther in the Den wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Open again...

The Original Margies Beef Stand ON NORTH AVE.
4948 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 747-7500

WP_20160716_001.jpg

Haven't stopped in yet...

Stopped by for lunch yesterday. At noon thirty I was the only one there.

Got the beef and a dog for My Bride.

Beef = Not too tender, salty with spiciness in the gravy. I was hoping the gravy would have that wonderful red tint that the original had on the West side of Cicero ave but no. They do cook their own beef.

Talking to the owner and he said his father was the one who bought Margie's from Margie back in '72. Worked it for 20 years and got out. He also said Margie had involvement in almost all of the area beef stands, Carm's, etc. About 10 different stands were all owned by the same family.

If business picks up maybe they will improve?

Pic's later as they are on My Bride's phone.

Just drove by the North Ave relocation and it appears to have closed. Phone number is no longer theirs. Google and yelp reports them open but...

I should’ve stopped.

After The original closed it just wasn’t the same.

After a little research it appears they are related to Luke’s and Jay’s Beef...

Frank Jr (Luke) began his restaurant in 1965 and now has restaurants in Tucson. Luke is still working full time, he says he doesn’t know what he’d do with himself if he retired. Information about Luke’s restaurants can be found at <compromised link>.

Luke’s two sons Joel and Cary operate branches in the Phoenix area and this is the link to their website http://www.lukesofchicago.com/. Luke’s son Matt owns a restaurant in Elkhorn WI.

Per the website, also the location at...

3130 N Harlem Ave, Chicago

Luke’s sister Muriel and her husband Justin Fortuna opened their stand in 1976. They have three restaurants, one on North Ave in Chicago, one in Harwood Heights, and one in Schiller Park. Their website is http://www.jaysbeef.com . The restaurants are named after Muriel and Justin’s son Jay who now helps run them. You’ll find Muriel still putting in a full day’s work behind the counter.

Jay's Beef

2255 W North Ave, Chicago
4418 N Narragansett Ave, Harwood Heights
9732 W Irving Park Rd, Schiller Park

https://delprincipefamilytree.com/chica ... andwiches/