On paper and through personal experience, Leghorn Chicken ( 959 N. Western Ave.; www.leghornchicken.com ) is one of the more unconventional restaurants in Chicago.
First, Leghorn—which opened March 6—calls itself a socially conscious eatery. To that end, the Ukrainian Village fast-food restaurant plans to, among other things, offer branded condoms and donate 2 percent of its proceeds to LGBT organizations. It also supports local farmers/artisans and, according to a press release, "we abhor corporate bullshit."
However, there's also controversy. Aside from the condoms—which are bound to rankle conservatives—the music ( loud, explicit hip-hop ) even prompted an article in The Chicago Tribune about the now tunes "vexed" some patrons. ( The cash-only restaurant does post outside that it plays "loud and explicit music." )
As for the food, the chicken sandwich I had was delightful, and the fries are probably the best I've ever had in Chicago—and that says a lot. So the chefs here ( Sieger Bayer and Jared Van Camp ) definitely know what they're doing. ( By the way, Leghorn stands apart by being open from 11 a.m. until the food is gone. Also, there's catering and the powers-that-be are working on a delivery system. )
Windy City Times recently sat down with an affable yet confident Bayer to discuss Leghorn, its food and its social consciousness.
Windy City Times: What do you think makes Leghorn stands out?
Sieger Bayer: We're not like any other restaurant—or even any other chicken place. We're not like Honey Butter or some of those other places; we don't have any other protein on the menu.
Our view is that we were just going to take fried-chicken sandwiches, and put them on awesome biscuits and awesome buns. We do the sides in house and the sauces in house, and stick with that. There are specials, but they're all parts of the same bird. We have chicken-fat fries and chicken nuggets—it's all from the same bird.
WCT: The opening time is basically until the food the gone, right?
Sieger Bayer: Right. We can only get a certain number of chickens from farms but we've been able to hook up with TJ's Poultry, which is in Piper City, Ill.—but we still run out.
WCT: What time?
Sieger Bayer: It really varies. Right now, we've been open until 9 p.m.; during the weekends, it's about 10 o'clock or so. A lot of it has to do with the weather. I have a feeling that during the summer, when we're jammin', it's gonna be ridiculous. The first couple days we closed at about 3 or so.
WCT: There's been some controversy about the music, although it's says it right here [pointing at the window] that you play it.
Sieger Bayer: Exactly. We've gotten a lot of people in favor of it, and a lot of people against it. It's a personal preference. For us, it's the music we choose to play—and it's hip-hop, obviously. It varies from the '80s to today; it's not straight Jay-Z and Kanye.
WCT: So no rock music?
Sieger Bayer: Not at all. [Smiles] You'll never hear Nickelback or any of those "awesome bands."
WCT: From reading the website, I learned that the bird the restaurant is named after is endangered.
Sieger Bayer: Yeah. People have come together for Leghorns. We don't serve them here—we're here to help them, not hurt them. No Leghorns were hurt in the process of opening Leghorn.
WCT: And 2 percent of the proceeds go to LGBT organizations. Which ones do they go to, and how do you choose?
Sieger Bayer: Right now, we're working with a bunch of groups [to determine the recipients]. We just don't want to give to one; we want to spread the wealth. I think we're going to start a Twitter thing, and get people's ideas about who they'd like to see getting the [proceeds]. We'll stick with local groups for now.
WCT: Oh, and condoms?
Sieger Bayer: Yes, they're in the works. We hope to have Leghorn condoms soon. Branding is a hard thing. Some people thought this might be, like, a Planned Parenthood, but it's just condoms.
WCT: Wow—that'd be some business. [Bayer laughs.] Is there anything else you want our readers to know?
Sieger Bayer: Yes. We're BYOB. We work with The Sportsman's Club right across the street [at 948 N. Western Ave.], and they have a takeaway license, so you can grab a beer and come over here. And they don't have a food license, so you take your chicken over there.
WCT: And eventually, will this be a chain? Do you see world domination?
Sieger Bayer: [Laughs] Yeah, there'll be one on every corner, like a Starbucks. We'll see.
