Walk out of the Addison stop on the Red Line, cross the street, and you're looking at Wrigley Field's home plate gate. Turn the other direction and, as of this past week, you're looking at a new sign for Uncle John's BBQ, a name that's been synonymous with South Side barbecue for decades. For anyone who's spent a Sunday afternoon on 69th and Calumet chasing hot links and rib tips, seeing that name across from the Friendly Confines is the kind of thing that stops you mid-stride.
Here's the part that matters more than the ribbon cutting: this is not a straightforward chain expansion. The Uncle John's now smoking meat at 947 W. Addison St. carries the same name, the same origin story, and a genuinely different lineage than the version some longtime fans are picturing. Understanding why changes what you order.
What Actually Opened on Addison
Uncle John's BBQ held its ribbon cutting this past week at 947 W. Addison St., directly beneath the Addison Red Line station and across from Wrigley Field. Ald. Bennett Lawson and members of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce were on hand for the ceremony, which the Chamber documented and shared. The new location serves the menu longtime customers would recognize: brisket, baby back ribs, barbecue chicken, fried wings, rib tips, hot links, brisket sandwiches, and pulled pork sandwiches.
The restaurant is owned by Darryl and Andrea Townsend, who also own Dat Donut, the doughnut shop with roots on Chicago's South Side. That ownership detail is the first thread worth pulling, because this Wrigleyville opening didn't happen in isolation.
This Isn't Uncle John's First Trip to This Block
Dat Donut expanded to Lakeview in 2025, opening at the same 947 W. Addison St. address. The BBQ shop opening now is effectively the second half of a plan the Townsends set in motion a year earlier. If you've walked past that corner in the last twelve months and noticed the donut shop but not the barbecue, that's because the pairing wasn't complete yet. It is now.
That sequencing tells you something about how this particular expansion works. It isn't a single restaurant testing a new zip code. It's one ownership group methodically bringing two South Side institutions, under one roof, to a single high-traffic Wrigleyville corner beneath a Red Line stop that sees foot traffic on every game day and most nights in between.
The Townsends aren't new to describing how this food is supposed to be eaten. Years ago, when Darryl Townson (an earlier spelling of the same name that shows up across coverage of the business) partnered with pitmaster Mack Sevier to open a South Side location, he laid out the order of operations plainly:
"You throw the fries on the bottom, the meat on top, put sauce on it, throw the white bread on it so you can pick up a little bit of the sauce, cup of coleslaw, good to go."
That's not a garnish suggestion. That's the architecture of a South Side barbecue order, and it's worth knowing before your first visit to Addison Street.
The Name on the Awning Isn't a Franchise
Here's where the story gets more interesting than a simple opening announcement, and where a Lakeview local benefits from knowing more than the press release says.
"Uncle John's BBQ" isn't a single, centrally owned brand with locations that all trace back to one kitchen. It's a name that traces back to pitmaster Mack Sevier, who opened the original restaurant near 69th Street and Calumet Avenue after years working as a butcher and pitmaster on the South Side. Sevier became known for his mastery of the aquarium smoker, a glass-enclosed, chimneyed fire pit built to smoke meat over live fire in Chicago's cold urban climate. It's a distinctly Chicago style of barbecue, and Sevier's version of it earned real regional reputation before his original location closed in 2013.
After Sevier stepped back, he gave permission to several relatives and associates to open their own restaurants under the Uncle John's name, using his recipes. That's why "Uncle John's BBQ" now shows up in more than one place across the Chicago area, and why those locations aren't uniformly connected. The Homewood location, run by the Kennebrew family (Garry Kennebrew was Sevier's godson and apprentice), is one branch of that lineage. The Wrigleyville location now open on Addison Street, owned by the Townsends, is a different branch. Longtime South Side barbecue followers have pointed out that the Townsend-run locations use a pellet smoker rather than Sevier's original aquarium smoker, which changes the amount of smokiness and char you get on the final product compared to the Homewood version.
None of that makes the Wrigleyville location less legitimate. Darryl Townsend trained directly under Sevier before running South Side Uncle John's locations himself. But if you grew up on the aquarium-smoked version and you're expecting an identical bite on the North Side, the smoker itself tells you to adjust that expectation before you order.
What Ends Up on Your Tray
The Wrigleyville menu mirrors the South Side original closely enough that regulars will recognize it immediately:
- Brisket and brisket sandwiches
- Baby back ribs
- Barbecue chicken and fried wings
- Rib tips and hot links
- Pulled pork sandwiches
Company-wide, Uncle John's runs long hours built around late nights near a ballpark and a train stop: Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Given the Addison Street location's setting under an active Red Line stop and across from a stadium that draws crowds well past dinner, those hours look intentional rather than incidental.
Why the Corner Under the Red Line Matters
Step back from the menu and look at what this opening actually represents for the block. Wrigleyville has spent the past several years building out its own food identity around the ballpark, from Gallagher Way's programming to the newer restaurants filling in along Clark and Addison. What the Townsends have done differently is import an entire South Side food tradition, doughnut shop and barbecue smoker together, onto one corner rather than opening a single novelty concept.
That's a different kind of neighborhood addition than a new bar or a rotating pop-up. It's two established, multi-decade South Side businesses choosing this specific Lakeview corner as their next chapter, sequenced a year apart under the same ownership. For anyone who already lives near Addison and Clark, that's a reason to walk that block with fresh attention, whether you're ordering rib tips before first pitch or grabbing a Dat Donut on your way to the Red Line the next morning.
Barbecue this good, with a story this specific, doesn't need embellishment. It just needs you to know which version of the story you're getting before you dig in.
If you're the kind of person who tracks how a neighborhood's food scene shifts one address at a time, that same attention to detail is exactly what I bring to reading a Lakeview block for clients, whether you're weighing a condo near Addison and Clark or just curious what your building's corner is worth in today's market. Andy Ogorzaly keeps an eye on both the barbecue and the buildings. Let's Connect.
