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TAC Quick Moving Into Old Fornello, Making Way For Mixed-Use Development

By Ariel Cheung | September 20, 2016 6:16am
 TAC Quick will move from the corner of Sheridan and Dakin to 1011 W. Irving Park Road.
TAC Quick will move from the corner of Sheridan and Dakin to 1011 W. Irving Park Road.
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DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung

LAKEVIEW — TAC Quick is uprooting after more than a decade at Sheridan and Dakin, replacing another longstanding Lakeview eatery.

TAC Quick, 3930 N. Sheridan Road, will replace the shuttered Fornello Trattoria at 1011 W. Irving Park Road, in the coming weeks.

While still open at its original location, the Thai restaurant announced the move with a window sign.

Fornello Trattoria served up Italian food for 28 years in Lakeview, first opening in 1988. While getting mixed reviews on Yelp, the Italian restaurant got a nod from Rachael Ray's "Tasty Travels" show.

Fornello Trattoria has closed and will be replaced by TAC Quick, which is moving in from around the corner. Renovations were already underway as of Monday. [DNAinfo/Ariel Cheung]

TAC Quick will vacate the Sheridan building as developers move forward with a transit-oriented development at 3928-34 N. Sheridan Road first proposed in 2014.

Responding to neighbors' concerns, Loukas Development reduced the number of residential units and parking spaces in August 2015 from its original proposal.

Along with scaling back, Lucien LaGrange Studio architects did away with the angular glass and concrete design in favor of a more traditional concept.

A proposed transit-oriented development near the Sheridan Red Line station will replace a three-story building that currently houses TAC Quick and apartments. This 2015 rendering replaced a contemporary building with a glass facade and angular design. [Provided/46th Ward]

Current plans call for an eight-story building with 54 units, 27 parking spaces, 27 bicycle spots and 3,053 square feet of retail space. It will replace a vintage three-story building with no parking.

No demolition permits have been issued, but Curbed Chicago reports that developers recently mailed notices of the approved zoning change to nearby residents.

Beloved for its generous portions and authentic Thai dishes, TAC Quick first opened in Lakeview in June 2003. TAC, which stands for Thai Authentic Cuisine, quickly gained a reputation for inexpensive and artful meals and has several years of Michelin Bib Gourmand awards under its belt.

"I just want (customers to be) happy with the meal you have," chef-owner Itti Damprapa told "Check, Please!" in 2007. "If you ask for it, we'll remake it for you. We're going to do whatever the customer wants."

Along with Thai dishes familiar to the average diner — Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai and curry — TAC features a "secret menu" just like one would find in Thailand, Damprapa said in his WTTW interview. In 2012, the Chicago Tribune declared it "uncompromisingly, unapologetically Thai."

"Some customers, when they came from Thailand, they take our food and they think, 'Oh, sometimes it's better than (what you'd find) in Thailand," Damprapa said bashfully. "I don't want to say that, but it's true."

One of the original owners of TAC Quick, Andy Aroonrasameruang, broke away from the restaurant in 2012 and opened his own "L" station eatery.

Andy's Thai Kitchen, a sushi/Thai hybrid, opened under the Wellington Brown Line station and plans to open a second location in Edgewater Oct. 1.