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After an 87-year run as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Maxwell Street area, the King of the Polish is officially on the move. Jim's Original, the oldest continuously operating hot dog stand on the street, is being forced to vacate due to a development project at UIC. According to a post on the stand's Instagram account, Jim's must vacate the premises by June 30.
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While the university (Jim’s landlord) plans to redevelop the corner, the details of what’s coming are still under wraps. We can only assume it’s something much more "educational" and significantly less delicious than a Polish sausage sandwich topped with yellow mustard and a mountain of onions.
Jim’s Original opened at the iconic corner of Halsted and Maxwell in 1939. It moved a block north in 2001 due to UIC’s initial expansion. Now the business is set to move to 551 W. 18th St. in Pilsen.
"While it’s bittersweet, we’re looking forward to what’s next and building a great new permanent home for Jim’s Original," said the management in the Instagram post. Jim’s is the last real link to the old Maxwell Street market, a place where Jimmy Stefanovic pioneered the Maxwell Street Polish back in 1943. For nearly nine decades, this stand has been the North Star for hungry Chicagoans, surviving neighborhood shifts and even a forced suspension of its 24-hour model.
The move to Pilsen comes with a big silver lining, however. Taking over the old Ken Tone’s Drive-In space, the new flagship location aims to bring back the 24-hour service that made Jim’s a late-night rite of passage.
Management is hoping for an extension on Union Avenue before UIC development begins, but says the new location will hopefully be up and running on 18th Street this fall. Jim's will be in a new neighborhood, but still serving up the same legendary onions.