AVONDALE — A diner folks on the North Shore have been raving about for decades is coming to the Northwest Side.
The owner of famed Evanston greasy spoon Sarkis Cafe is opening a second location in Avondale at 3517 N. Spaulding Ave., according to a Friday Facebook post.
Owner Marla Cramin didn’t immediately return a message Sunday, but according to the post, the Avondale diner is expected to open sometime in mid-December for pickup and delivery only.
The Spaulding Avenue address is part of a strip mall bordering Avondale and Irving Park and was once home to Eagle Insurance.
Sarkis Cafe has been an Evanston mainstay since 1965, its popularity fueled by the larger-than-life personality of owner Sarkis Tashjian, who worked the grill — and the crowd — inside the cramped diner.
Everyone was “my friend” or “buddy” when they walked in. For regulars, Tashjian would come from behind the grill to greet them with a kiss. Many sought photos, which Tashjian plastered around the diner, his bushy mustache and smile featured in each one.
Tashjian, the son of Armenian Genocide survivors, developed a devout following in his 35 years at the helm. President Jimmy Carter and Harold Ramis were among the celebrities stopping by. Students coming home from college would always return to check in.
They came for his unique take on diner food like the Disaster Sandwich, the Loretta Sandwich and the “World’s Best Omelette” with house-made Armenian sausage. Mounds of hash browns filled the grill as Tashjian cracked eggs and fired hook shots with the shells into the garbage.
Tashjian sold the diner to Cramin’s family in 2000 and retired. He died of heart trouble in 2018 at age 86, according to the Sun-Times, but is remembered fondly for treating all of his customers like family, and for building a restaurant that has become an Evanston institution.
When Cramin and her family took over the restaurant, they kept Tashjian’s menu.
The Avondale diner will be the first city location for Sarkis Cafe — although another Chicago diner created some confusion over the past decade.
In 2012, Cramin and her family filed a lawsuit against Sarks in the Park in Lincoln Park, demanding the city eatery drop the Sark name and take signature items, such as its signature Loretta sandwich, off the menu. Sarks in the Park closed in 2016. The owner said the lawsuit “had nothing to do with the closure.”
Sarkis Cafe/Facebook
Sarkis Cafe
Sarkis Cafe/Facebook
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November 16, 2020 at 02:03PM
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Sarkis Cafe, Famed Evanston Diner, Coming To Avondale - Block Club Chicago
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