Chicago Not Dogs offers San Diegans a chance to taste the most popular dishes from the Windy City without having to travel very far. Classic Chicago-style hot dogs, chili cheese dogs, and Italian beef-like sandwiches are just a few of the menu items you can try. The business has been operating as a pop-up at farmer’s markets and that just wasn’t enough for SoCal foodies to get their fix. To meet the demand, Chicago Not Dogs is opening a restaurant in North Park today!

Chicago Not Dogs’s New Brick-And-Mortar Restaurant

Brian and Susan Gervase moved to San Diego from Chicago and had trouble finding their favorite sandwiches—especially in a vegan version. Like true businesspeople, the couple decided to fill that hole in the food industry by launching Chicago Not Dogs as a way to share the flavors from their hometown that align with their vegan lifestyle. Well, what began as an occasional pop-up at farmer’s markets is now expanding to a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Chicago Not Dogs’s new brick-and-mortar is replacing what used to be The Modern Vegan. It’s an open-air restaurant decked out with a bunch of TVs and a trendy bar. To make things even better, there will be an all-vegan market attached to the restaurant to showcase foods and products from other local vegan vendors.

San Diego’s Newest Vegan Market

Vegan Regional Goods, or VRG, is a place you can go to purchase pantry staples and baked goods as well as bath and body products. The product lineup at San Diego’s newest vegan market features a variety of hard-to-find vegan items like white chocolate chips from MarcieSweets, ice cream sandwiches from Soul Baked, date-sweetened double chocolate chip cookies from Tracy’s Real Food, and more!

The Menu at Chicago Not Dogs

Brian and Susan shared that the core menu at Chicago Not Dogs “comes from decades of tasting and experiences before we began our own vegan journey.” The couple sources the most authentic ingredients that make Chicago-style foods famous and utilize a combination of ingredients—from name brand Beyond Meat sausages and Field Roast franks to house-made Italian “beef” seitan loaves and fried chicken from the local SoCal restaurant, Original Herbivore.

The most iconic item on the menu is the Chicago-Style Not Dog which is made with a Field Roast frank, tomato wedges, sport peppers, onions, and a pickle spear with relish, mustard, and a sprinkle of celery salt. Other dishes we can’t wait to try are the Fried Chick’n Sandwich, Chili Cheeze Dog, and Italian Beaf Sandwich. The restaurant team expressed plans to serve alcoholic beverages (like Pabst Blue Ribbon beer) but they are still working on securing their liquor license.

Where to Find Chicago Not Dogs

And now for the most important deets—the location and hours. Chicago Not Dogs is opening today (Friday, July 16th) at 4332 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104. The restaurant will be open from 11am-7pm on Mondays as well as Wednesdays-Saturdays. As for Sunday and Tuesday, Chicago Not Dogs is planning on hosting vegan brunch and Taco Tuesday events in the near future. For more information, visit their website or follow them on Instagram.