UPTOWN — Over the years, Moses Sankey has found many ways to give back to the North Side community that raised him — from coaching the game that sent him to college to mentoring kids.
Now, the former University of Wisconsin defensive back has found a new venture "to give something positive to the community" by opening a new jerk chicken shack in Uptown, where he was born and raised.
"We wanted to bring good, quality food with excellent customer service," Sankey said during the grand opening Monday, adding the offerings were "authentic and made from scratch [so] it takes time."
The Jerk Stop, 1132 W. Wilson Ave., had a few hiccups with its soft opening for the restaurant Friday, but thanked customers that showed up via its Facebook page.
"We were a bit disorganized, we will get better and we appreciate everyone support. Thank you for allowing us to serve you. Peace and Love," the post said.
Monday, the restaurant was "pretty busy" especially during the lunch hours implementing the full menu, which includes plantains, sweet potato and regular fries, jerk tacos, plantain sandwiches, whole jerk chickens, curry chicken, curried goat and more.
"I'm very humbled by all of this. We're getting a chance to be around good people and serve quality food," Sankey said.
Sankey grew up in the neighborhood, along with his business partner Nisar Muzaffar, and attended Joan Arai Middle School, which later became Uplift High School, 900 W. Wilson Ave. In his youth, Sankey and his brothers made headlines for their work in activism when they were elected to the executive committee of the Uptown Youth F.O.R.C.E.
The not-for-profit organization of perhaps 25 to 30 "young men and women who grew up in Uptown and want to make our community a better place to live," according to the Tribune.
Sankey and his older brother Ben Sankey were both standout athletes at Whitney Young. Ben went on to play in the NFL and CFL.
A sign announcing the Jerk Stop was replacing Harold's Chicken was placed on the FLATS Chicago building at the end of September.
"We’re happy to bring in another authentic restaurant concept to Wilson Avenue," said Mark Heffron, a managing partner for Cedar Street which owns FLATS.
It offers hefty portions of Caribbean food or "enough food for an entire family,", according to its website.
Food is available for catering, delivery and carry out. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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