SOUTHPORT CORRIDOR — A quirky marketing campaign for a storefront on the Southport Corridor has suggested some fanciful new tenants.
Over the past week, banners announcing two fake businesses coming to 3715 N. Southport Ave. have proven false, but a few clues can lead curious neighbors to the truth pretty quickly: 5411 Empanadas will set up shop there.
Call it an elaborate April Fools' prank, but hopefully even the most gullible didn't fall for last week's sign for Apollo Moon Real Estate, which offered to help clients purchase land on the moon.
This week's poster advertising the Olympic Curling Memorabilia shop might be a little harder to see through — particularly if there is genuine interest among curling fans for "water that used to be the ice used on the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics."
A marketing campaign from 5411 Empanadas has suggested some quirky tenants for 3715 N. Southport Ave., including a real estate agency for the moon. [Provided/DNAinfo]
The big reveal comes in the websites listed on the posters — CurlingisReal.info, it turns out, re-directs to the website for 5411 Empanadas.
The Chicago-based eatery will open its fifth Chicago location sometime in May, co-owner Nicolas Ibarzabal said Monday. The Southport location joins 5411 Empanadas in Wicker Park, Downtown and at 2850 N. Clark St. in Lakeview.
Ibarzabal said the new storefront will not replace the other Lakeview location, which opened in 2012 as the first permanent spot for 5411 Empanadas. Most recently, the Loop store opened in July, and the three new spots were announced in January 2015.
5411 Empanadas will move into 3715 N. Southport Ave., the former home of Petite Feet and Katie B's. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]
Named after the international dialing code for Buenos Aires, Argentina, 5411 Empanadas got its start as a food truck in 2009. In addition to the five Chicago locations and food truck, there is also a 5411 Empanadas in Miami.
Like the Wicker Park restaurants, the new Southport location will sell liquor and offer weekend brunch, Ibarzabal said.
Renovations began in late 2015 and are estimated to cost about $50,000, according to city permits. Petite Feet, a children's shoe store, filled the space for almost a decade until 2013, when owner Katherine Dyon expanded as a children's clothing boutique, renamed Katie B's.
Six months later, Dyon closed shop, blasting Southport Corridor residents as "snobby" and "privileged."
"Not making money and being treated like crap doesn't work," Dyon said at the time, recounting incidents of people throwing shoes at employees and letting children pee in the store.
While 5411 Empanadas has a solid following in Chicago, it will face some stiff competition on the Southport Corridor.
Cafe Tola, beloved by residents for its tasty empanadas and gorgeous murals, sells up to 14,000 empanadas in a single month, its owner said previously.
But the new Cafe Tola expansion, Doña Tola, will not sell empanadas. Just up the street at 3751 N. Southport Ave., Doña Tola will feature Latin comfort food like braised pork with cactus and breaded steak.
RELATED:
• Cafe Tola Expanding to Former Sensational Bites Spot On Southport
• Adorable Collage Paying Homage to Cafe Tola Appears At New Sister Eatery
• Southport Businesses Express Shock At Shop Owner's Rant On 'Snobby' Locals
• 5411 Empanadas To Open Downtown Store; Hand Out Free Food
• 5411 Empanadas Adds New Spots In Wicker Park, Loop, Southport Corridor
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