Darien Getting Chicago Restaurant Favorite, Replacing Cheesesteak Spot

DARIEN, IL – Southwest Chicago thought Mini Hut Chicken was gone forever when the owner died in 2022. But it returned earlier this year.

Now, the new owner is planning a second location in Darien.

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The restaurant is set for the strip mall at 7517 S. Cass Ave., which includes Starbucks and Nothing Bundt Cakes. Mini Hut is replacing Charleys Cheesecakes, which has closed.

Over the summer, NBC 5's food writer, Kevin Pang, raved about the Mini Hut on Archer Avenue in Chicago's Garfield Ridge neighborhood. He noted the restaurant's "butter crust chicken."

"(T)hough no actual butter is in the breading, there was a rich buttery flavor baked into the skin," Pang wrote. "I loved it."

Chicago's Mini Hut opened in 1972 and closed when owner Don Engel died, but Brett Gomez, now 22, revived it earlier this year, Pang reported.

The sign on the Darien building says Mini Hut is coming soon. Patch left a message for Gomez on Monday.

Mini Hut also serves hot dogs and beef, among other items.

Charleys, which recently closed, was named the Darien Business Alliance's Restaurant of the Week in August.

Charleys has more than 700 locations across the country, including nearby ones in Lombard and Villa Park.