"Chicago's food and beverage scene is about to get a whole lot more delicious. Chef Charlie McKenna: the culinary mastermind behind beloved restaurants Lillie's Q and Roux: is teaming up with hospitality powerhouse The Fifty/50 Group to bring something entirely new to the Loop. Fatback, a hybrid sandwich shop, butcher, and specialty market, is set to open at 176 West Wacker Drive in early 2026, and it's already generating serious buzz among hospitality industry insiders."
"This isn't your average grab-and-go lunch spot. Fatback represents a fresh approach to fast-casual dining that combines chef-driven quality with the convenience modern diners crave. For restaurant owners, hospitality managers, and food and beverage professionals watching the trends, this concept offers a masterclass in menu innovation and hybrid retail strategy. A Partnership Born During the Pandemic Like many great ideas in the food and beverage industry, Fatback emerged from the unexpected downtime of the COVID era. While isolating in Florida, McKenna found himself doing what he loves most: making sandwiches. Lots of them."
""Fatback really came out of conversations Charlie and I were having during COVID," explains Greg Mohr of Fifty/50 Group. "Charlie was making these simple sandwiches with phenomenal ingredients and it clicked immediately. The concept is about letting great ideas lead, pulling inspiration from different places, flavors and cultures and expressing all of that through sandwiches." The partnership brings together McKenna's culinary precision: honed in Michelin-starred kitchens like Tru and Avenues:"
Fatback will open at 176 West Wacker Drive in early 2026 as a hybrid sandwich shop, butcher, and specialty market led by Chef Charlie McKenna and The Fifty/50 Group. The concept combines chef-driven ingredients with fast-casual convenience to deliver elevated sandwiches and hybrid retail offerings. The idea originated during COVID while McKenna experimented with sandwiches in Florida. The partnership pairs McKenna's culinary experience from Michelin-starred kitchens with Fifty/50's operational expertise built over nearly two decades across Chicago restaurants and bars.
Read at Food & Beverage Magazine
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