WICKER PARK — After several months of anticipation, Devil Dawgs has opened its Wicker Park outpost — the third in the city for the Lincoln Park-based chain that serves Red Hot Chicago beef dogs.
Fans of the late-night hot dog and hamburger joint, which also serves chili, fries and milkshakes, might be excited to see menu additions only offered in Wicker Park, such as a fruit slushie and salads.
The 66-seat eatery also is the only Devil Dawgs to have digital menu boards, owner Alan Katz said during a tour on opening day, Wednesday.
Twice the size of Katz's State Street location, which opened in 2013 and almost five times as large as the original spot on the DePaul University campus that debuted in 2009, the walls of the 2,000 square-foot Wicker Park outpost feature colorful street art murals and vintage signs.
"None of this would have happened without [the] Lincoln Park [location] and the DePaul students," Katz said of Devil Dawgs' steady growth.
Katz said he selected Wicker Park for his third spot because the area's demographic "fits the brand profile" of eaters who like to stay out late.
And to that end, Devil Dawgs, which does not serve alcohol, will stay open until 3 a.m. on weekends so folks leaving the bars can pop by on their way home. There are also three flat-screens TVs to keep patrons tuned into the news or sports games.
Prices start at $3.25 for a "Chicago dog" and go up to $6.25 for specialty grilled sausages such as the Buffalo, Voodoo or "Wicker Dawg," the latter a 7-inch-long sausage unique to Wicker Park and topped with Giardiniera, onions, tomatoes, brown mustard and Merkts cheese on a French roll.
Neighbored by Fringe Salon and the boozy Taco Bell to the north and Decibel Audio, a turntable and speaker shop to the south, the Devil Dawgs storefront was previously home to Eye Want Eye Wear, a longtime retail staple that relocated to Chicago Avenue last year.
Devil Dawgs, 1431 N. Milwaukee Ave. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 10:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Ph: 773-687-9441.
Devil Dawgs opened on Wednesday, a very cold day. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
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