Cheesie’s coming to Garfield Ridge

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Popular ‘pub & grub’ coming to Archer/Nashville

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By Tim Hadac

A business strip in need of a shot of adrenaline is about get a bit of zing next month.

Cheesie’s Pub & Grub, a well known favorite on the North Side, is bringing its casual dining fun to the vacant Lindy’s/Gertie’s building at 6544 W. Archer.

“We’re pleased to bring Cheesie’s to the Midway area,” company founder and CEO Chris Johnston said. “We are very community oriented and adaptable to the neighborhoods we serve.”

Cheesie’s was attracted to the area through the efforts of the Midway Chamber of Commerce, which is using funds from a city grant it competed for and won to pay Cheesie’s first year of rent.

As reported earlier this year in the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound, the Midway Chamber of Commerce is one of 15 community and economic development organizations that have been awarded grants as part of the Small Business Storefront Activation Program. The MCC has access to as much as $200,000 in government assistance to bring new life to local business corridors.

“This is an exciting development, and I’m confident people here will like Cheesie’s quite a bit.” said MCC First Vice President Zen McHugh, who spearheaded the grant application, as well as reached out to Johnston. “There’s quite a bit that can be done to rejuvenate our business corridors, and this is just one step the Chamber is taking.”

Cheesie’s was borne out of the simple frustration of a person craving a grilled cheese sandwich in a world where many restaurants and pubs no longer offer them.

Johnston, a city native and grandson of a Chicago firefighter, saw that as a light bulb moment. He had worked for several restaurants starting as a teenager: Steak n’ Shake, the Oliver Garden, Morton’s Steakhouse. He used his experience to launch the company in 2011, offering a number of creative spins on the basic grilled cheese sandwich, as well as chicken fingers, tater tots, fried pickles, pizza puffs, fried macaroni and cheese, fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and more.

In a nod to the building’s recent past as a hub of neighborhood activity, Johnston has agreed to carry genuine Lindy’s Chili, a Southwest Side favorite for generations.

Johnston said Cheesie’s will maintain the basic setup of the old Lindy’s/Gertie’s where the east half of the interior is a casual restaurant and the west is a bar. Cheesie’s is well liked up north for its beer selection, as well as its Sunday brunches featuring mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Johnston’s goal is to have Cheesie’s up and running by the Chicago Working Families’ Archer Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, set for Saturday, March 16. If it’s not, the Cheesie’s food truck will be on site to help introduce the new restaurant and pub to the Midway area.