Hashtag 95 has closed at 6260 W. 95th St. in Oak Lawn.
The restaurant, owned by Palos Park couple Nick and Jacki Perakis, opened in September 2024 and quickly established itself as a brunch destination known for its creative menu, trendy atmosphere and social-media-friendly dishes.
The announcement of the closing came Sept. 25 in a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Nick Perakis acknowledged that the decision was difficult and that the sudden closure left some customers confused.
“This is not an easy post to write,” Perakis wrote. “Hashtag 95 has officially closed its doors.”
Perakis apologized to customers who stopped by expecting the restaurant to be open or reached out looking for answers.
Hashtag 95 held special meaning for Perakis, who grew up in Oak Lawn and had spent most of his life working in the restaurant industry. Opening a business in the community where he was raised was something he had wanted to do for years.
“This is home,” he said in an interview published by Southwest Regional Publishing shortly after Hashtag 95 opened.
Perakis had long dreamed of opening his own restaurant. He previously worked at Louie’s Chophouse while pursuing a psychology degree from the University of Chicago.
He also owns Rockefeller’s, a modern steakhouse in Oak Lawn that opened in December 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of Rockefeller’s gave him the confidence to pursue a second restaurant concept.
“Right away, Rockefeller’s was extremely successful,” Perakis said in the 2025 interview. “That encouraged me to take on this new brunch concept.”
Hashtag 95 was designed around a casual brunch experience, with an emphasis on creative food and presentation.
Among its signature offerings were the #Hashtag Signature French Toast Sticks, arranged to resemble a hashtag and served with powdered sugar and vanilla bean crème brûlée sauce. Other menu items included Poppy’s Style Crepes, filled with bananas, Nutella and mascarpone whipped cream, and the Peter Rabbit Panini, featuring grilled portabella mushrooms, basil pesto and mozzarella on sourdough.
The restaurant also featured playful cocktails, including adult juice boxes and the Pancake Old Fashioned.
Behind the restaurant’s menu and atmosphere was a business that Perakis said required years of work and personal sacrifice.
In his closing announcement, he said it took more than 12 years of hard work, sacrifice and determination to finally make the restaurant a reality.
“Hashtag 95 was personal,” he wrote.
Perakis said his children’s names were incorporated into the menu and his family became part of the restaurant’s story.
“I gave this place everything I had,” he wrote.
He acknowledged that the restaurant industry is one of the most challenging businesses, requiring substantial amounts of time, money, energy and heart.
“Sometimes things just don’t work out the way we hoped they would,” Perakis wrote. “Sometimes things happen that are completely out of our control and can change the trajectory of a business.”
Despite the closing, Perakis said he was proud of how long he and his team continued to fight to keep Hashtag 95 going.
The closure also prompted Perakis to reflect on the importance of supporting locally owned businesses.
He encouraged customers to support the restaurants and small businesses they want to see remain part of their communities by visiting them, recommending them to friends, sharing their social media posts and giving them grace when things do not always go perfectly.
“Supporting the businesses you want to see stay in your community matters more than people realize,” he wrote.
Perakis thanked the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, fellow restaurant owners and community members who supported Hashtag 95 during its time in Oak Lawn.
He also thanked the restaurant’s employees for standing by him through changes and transitions, as well as customers who brought their families, celebrated at the restaurant or simply stopped in for a meal.
“I’m proud of what we created, the people we met, the relationships we built and all of the memories that were made inside those walls,” Perakis wrote.
Hashtag 95 may be closed, but Perakis made it clear that he is not leaving the restaurant industry.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business most of my life, and I know this will not be the end of it for me,” he wrote.
He remains involved with Rockefeller’s in Oak Lawn and said he hopes the community will continue to support the restaurant.
“Thank you, Oak Lawn,” Perakis wrote. “Thank you for giving Hashtag 95 a chance.”