In a first-ever merger for both brands, Johnny Rockets and Halsted Street Deli have opened two combined restaurants in downtown Chicago. The restaurants are located at the corner of State and Lake Streets and at 30 N. LaSalle Street. A grand opening ceremony is scheduled for the State Street location Sept. 23.
The two new combined restaurants feature a wood-trimmed Halsted Street Deli on one side and the bright, modern decor of Johnny Rockets on the other. Unlike the more traditional Johnny Rockets, the two new restaurants do not offer table service. Instead, they focus on fast, friendly ordering - with walk-up registers and self-service beverage bars.
Also, a few menu favorites have been revised: hot dogs now come Chicago-style, the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich has been replaced with Chicago's favorite Italian Beef Sandwich and meaty Rocket Wings are served with the local favorite, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.
Bill Gomez and Rick Schofield are the owner/operators of the Halsted Street Deli, of which there are now 25 locations. The pair are regular customers of Johnny Rockets so they conceptualized and proposed the combination of brands. The pair are planning to open 10 more co-located units throughout the area.
"One reason the partnership works so well is that Johnny Rockets represents a uniquely simple business plan with an extremely flexible footprint,” said Chris Carver, vice president of franchise operations at Johnny Rockets. “For urban markets like Chicago, we believe multi-brand units can work, as long as you integrate localized knowledge and expertise. That's exactly what we have with Bill and Rick. They have proven that we can localize our concept without compromising the Johnny Rockets brand.”
The LaSalle Street location is open Monday through Friday; from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the State Street location is open until 10 p.m., weekdays.
