Lucky's Brings Massive Sandwiches, Food Challenge to Wicker Park

A Wrigleyville eatery known for its massive sandwiches and a food challenge that earned it a feature on The Travel Channel has come to Wicker Park.

Lucky's Sandwich Company opened its doors Jan. 4 at 1635 N. Milwaukee Ave., bringing its total Chicago locations to three. The company serves overstuffed sandwiches, which include full sides such as cole slaw and French fries which join sandwiches' regular ingredients.

That style of sandwich originated in Pittsburgh's Primanti Bros. sandwich shop and was brought to Chicago by Lucky's co-owner Mike Feczko, according to co-owner and managing partner Jon Donnelly.

The food challenge that attracted the attention of The Travel Channel's Man v. Food  helped put Lucky's on the map, according to Donnelly. Any contestant willing to take on the challenge must try to eat three Lucky's sandwiches in one hour.

Winners get the third sandwich free, along with a T-shirt and a photo on the Wall of Fame. Anybody who completes the challenge in half an hour or less gets all three sandwiches for free.

The challenge was created by a regular customer—also a Pittsburgh native—at the original Wrigleyville location one night after a Cubs game. He came in, ordered three sandwiches, and finished them in under an hour. The staff put his picture up on the wall and started offering the challenge to the public.

However, it wasn't until Man v. Food's Adam Richman tried the challenge on national TV that the challenge became a major draw for Lucky's. Donnelly said more than 1,300 people have attempted it in the past four years as a result of the show, and that exposure has helped Lucky's grow.

"It's taken us to a good level and it's allowed us to open up a few more stores since," Donnelly said.

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The original location opened in 2004, and the second opened in University Village in March of 2011. Donnelly said he and his business partners looked at several locations around the Bucktown and Wicker Park area over the past year before settling on the Milwaukee Avenue site that formerly housed Plan B Bar.

Their main goal was to find a spot that was far enough away from the first two shops to avoid drawing away their existing customers, but Donnelly said they were leaning towards Wicker Park from the start.

"That was our ideal location," he said. "Andersonville would have been a great location, Lincoln Square would have been good, you know, downtown, Lincoln Park. But our first choice was the Wicker Park area, so we were just lucky to find a space."

Once the "where" was nailed down, Donnelly said it took about eight weeks of cosmetic touches—cleaning, painting and minor wood work—before the Wicker Park site was ready to open its doors.

The past week has featured a soft opening in which Lucky's works out some minor kinks with its audio, TV, and draft beer systems. But Donnelly said the place was full for Friday night dinner rushes and weekend lunch and football games.

"We're very happy with how the first weekend worked and we feel very confident that we're going to make it work and do well in that neighborhood," he said.

If all goes well, Lucky's should be ready to have an official grand opening within the next week or so, according to Donnelly.

While the owners aren't ruling out more expansions in the future, they said their immediate concern is getting the Wicker Park shop off the ground while keeping the two other stores running smoothly.

"You never say never, but right now we're pretty content for the next year," he said.

Lucky's Sandwich Company is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Friday and until 3 a.m. on Saturdays.

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