BUCKTOWN — The father-and-son team behind a beloved barbecue joint are saying that they'd love to stay in Bucktown but they don't have a strong enough following in the area, even after lots of favorable reviews.
"Believe it or not, we've been on numerous shows, "Check, Please!," "Chicago's Best" and for whatever reason, the style we cook does not have a stronger following like we think it should," Honey 1 BBQ's co-owner Robert Adams Jr. said Tuesday.
First reported by the Reader on Monday, Honey 1 BBQ is moving to a new spot at 746 E. 43rd St. in Bronzeville once permits are worked out, likely in the spring.
Adams Jr., 35, confirmed that the move to Bronzeville would mean that the Bucktown location, which opened in 2005 at 2241 N. Western Ave., would close "sometime March or April."
"We do not have an official day yet but we are moving. We'd stay if we had stronger support. It was based on business, period," Adams Jr. said.
Adams and his father, Robert Adams Sr., 65, employ a staff of eight, including themselves. Everyone will be headed to Bronzeville, Adams Jr. said.
When asked what he will miss most about Bucktown, Adams Jr. said: "You build with the business and you build relationships. The customers become almost like family when you've been here a while. You grow with those people, see relationships grow to marriages, teenagers to young adults."
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