Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot joined Alderman Michelle A. Harris (8th) and local entrepreneur Siraj Elahi of American Antwan Land, LLC, for a groundbreaking ceremony for Chicago’s first Huddle House restaurant on the south side. The Calumet Heights neighborhood will be the chain’s first Chicago location on a newly developed five-acre site at 9401 S Stony Island that will also be home to the Montclare Senior Residence, a seven-story, mixed income independent living development. Huddle House will operate 24 hours a day and bring up to 80 permanent jobs to the neighborhood.

The estimated $3.2 million project was awarded $1.1 million in Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF) Grant assistance in 2019. Announced in 2016, NOF grants were designed to strengthen neighborhoods by leveraging development in and around downtown toward investment in Chicago’s South and West sides. The NOF uses these grants to support development in commercial corridors in Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods. Once open, Huddle House will be one of only two eateries in the 8th Ward with a dine-in option, serving a critical need for food alternatives within the Calumet Heights community.