Beer, Wine and Possibly Video Gaming Coming to Huck Finn Restaurant

Photo: Huck Finn Restaurant, home of the Alaska doughnut, held by manager Chris. The owners want to bring video gaming to the restaurant.

OAK LAWN, IL -- Huck Finn Restaurant, home of the Alaska doughnut, cleared the first hurdle toward offering video gaming by acquiring a liquor license to serve beer and wine.

Oak Lawn trustees approved the family business’s liquor license application 6-0 at Tuesday’s board meeting. The restaurant at 10501 S. Cicero Ave. will serve beer and wine between 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday.

The family corporation, Hiotis Enterprises, which owns and operates three Huck Finn restaurants on the South Side, next has to apply for a liquor license from the state.

Cousins George Hrysikos, 42 and George Hiotis, 41, who manage the family’s Oak Lawn location with cousin Kosta Hiotis, 32, plan to eventually add on a gaming room to the existing building if they can successfully obtain a video gaming license.

The Illinois Gaming Board requires businesses to hold a liquor license. The state caps video gaming machines at five per establishment. Before the state grants gaming licenses, businesses must first get approval from the local governing body. That is next for the Huck Finn owners.

The village’s booming business climate, including the opening of many casual fast dining franchises worried Hrysikos and Hiotis in the beginning, but it has turned out to be a plus for their business.

“More people are coming into the area. Mariano’s is pulling in a lot of people, who see our restaurant,” Hrysikos said. “This is an opportunity. It’s great what is happening in the area, but at the same time we still have to be proactive and do what we need to do to stay viable.”

Beer and wine will be served from a cooler behind the counter. The second-generation owners are not adding a bar to the restaurant, nor do they plan on serving mixed drinks.

Employees will also be be required to complete Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training (BASSET), that educates sellers and servers to engage in responsible alcohol service, including spotting underage drinkers and reducing the potential for DUI-related accidents and fatalities.

One area the Georges won’t change is the dining. Huck Finn offers a robust menu with over items, including dessert, breakfast, lunch, dinner, salads and soups, 24/7.

“Our goal is to not mess with dining because it seems to be working out,” Hiotis said. “We’re going to keep the gaming separate from the dining area.”

The Hiotis and Hrysikos family has been involved in the restaurant business since 1971. The first Huck Finn was purchased by a Hiotis brother at the corner of Archer and Kedzie. The family retained the name “Huck Finn” because it was well established in the neighborhood.

Hrysikos’ uncles and his father went on to open Huck Finn restaurants at various other locations around the South Side. In addition to Oak Lawn, the family current operates two other Huck Finn restaurants in Chicago at 6650 S. Pulaski Ave. and 3414 S. Archer Ave.

The Oak Lawn Huck Finn opened in 1998 and the Georges, after a brief stint at the Chicago Board of Trade, have been involved at that location since day one.

“We’ve just always stayed together as a family and a group,” Hrysikos said.

The cousins also don’t plan to tamper with the success of the restaurant’s line of doughnuts and pastries, which are made fresh twice daily at the Pulaski Avenue location.

Wifi is coming back to the Oak Lawn location, too, as the cousins are negotiating a contract with a new carrier.

And if video gaming doesn’t prove to be the boon they hope it will be, “we’ll have an extra room,” Hiotis said.