While Chicago is no stranger to various restaurant weeks, Latin Restaurant Weeks (LRW), which began on Friday and runs through Oct. 20, puts a unique spin on how it showcases participating eateries.
What began in 2019 in Houston as a grassroots effort to highlight the diversity of Latinx-owned culinary businesses — think restaurants, bakeries, bars, food trucks and coffee shops with prix-menus and special dishes — has since grown to include other cities, including Chicago.
Now in its third year here, LRW features more than 30 restaurants across the city, ranging from Wicker Park’s Costa Rican restaurant Irazu and Birrieria La Tapatia de Ocotlan in Pilsen to Uptown’s Oaxacan restaurant Kie Gol Lanee.
“What we found was that traditional restaurant weeks typically showcase mostly fine dining restaurants,” says Karinn Chavarria, who founded the initiative with her partner, Warren Luckett. “We wanted to take it a step further and create a holistic campaign that would spotlight those who often times aren’t given a seat at the table.”
An important part of that campaign, which involves no entry fee, includes providing marketing education and PR to its participants.
“For small business owners, marketing can sometimes be an afterthought as they are so occupied with the operations, cooking, hiring, training,” says Chavarria, adding that the high cost of marketing is also a deterrent. “That’s where we step in.”
Through funding from their sponsors, LRW provides publicists in each city who help the participants create campaigns for the event on social media, as well as supply a digital marketing tool kit of sorts. Connecting restaurant owners with potential radio, TV and print opportunities is also included at no charge.
LRW also differentiates itself from other restaurant week campaigns in that it doesn’t stipulate what the restaurants offer.
“We give the restaurants full autonomy to create a custom menu,” says Chavarria, adding that restaurants first go through a vetting process to determine that they are majority Latin-owned. “It’s simply, create a delicious special that will entice people to join.”
At Belmont Cragin’s Su Taqueria Thaly’s, which has been open since 2009, that means three chile relleno tacos stuffed with meat (steak, chicken, al pastor or shrimp) and melted cheese and topped with onion and cilantro. Included in the $18 special is a side of rice and beans and a drink choice of aqua fresca or horchata.
Inspiration for the dish comes from co-owner Vanessa Landa’s desire to offer Chicago diners something different.
]“It’s something you’d see in Mexico, but we don’t have it here,” she says. “It’s important to make that connection,” she said.
Participating in LRW gives diners “a great opportunity to get to know us,” said Landa. “There aren’t a lot of Latina business owners and I hope I’m an inspiration to women.”
At Savanna Restaurant’s three locations, owners and brothers Luis and Enrique Calderon are offering 12 specials from their breakfast/brunch-focused menu, all of which include a cup of chicken tortilla soup.
It’s their signature dish, however, that chef Enrique is most proud of. Llapingachos Benedict ($16), an Ecuadorian-inspired dish that includes potato cakes, grilled tomatoes, pork chorizo, poached eggs and a chipotle hollandaise sauce, taps into his early days in Chicago when he worked at the West Loop’s beloved breakfast spot, Ina’s.
“We want to be part of this country with our tastes and flavors,” said Enrique of their Ecuadorean heritage.
Then there’s Polombia (15 W. Washington), which offers a fusion of Polish and Columbia food at a food stall in the Loop’s Revival Hall. The brainchild of Cynthia Orobio, who is from Columbia, and Phillipe Sobon, a Polish American, self-taught chef who grew up in Jefferson Park, Polombia in addition to participating in LRW, was awarded a $10,000 financial stipend through the organization’s philanthropic arm, Feed the Soul Foundation. Rubi’s Tacos, located in Pilsen, also received the funding.
“We wanted a way to continue to serve the restaurants after the two weeks are over,” said Chavarria of the national nonprofit founded in 2020. Last year marked the first time it was offered in Chicago with restaurants Tacotlan and Garifuna Flava receiving the award. In addition to the money, recipients receive $15,000 worth of business training through the foundation.
“I’ve told all my Latin and brown restaurant owners about it so they can apply,” said Orobio. “It’s propelled us forward and will help us open our brick-and-mortar location in the future.”
For Latin Restaurant Weeks, Polombia is offering Bandeja Polombiana ($20), a combination plate of coffee-braised short rib, Kola-roasted chicken, smoked kielbasa and papa choriada (Yukon gold potatoes with sofrito) served with arepas.
Said Orobio, “For me being a woman of color and Latin to be able to showcase different foods from different ethnicities to the city of Chicago is a big blessing and honor.”
For more information, visit latinrestaurantweeks.com/chicago-menu.
