Return of Butter Crust Chicken Has Tongues Wagging
By Tim Hadac
Managing Editor
Southwest Chicago Post
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The mere mention of Mini Hut returning to Garfield Ridge after an absence of more than three years recently set hundreds of tongues wagging on local social media platforms.
“Happy New Year!” exclaimed Garfield Ridge resident Tammy Kozubalik in one post. “This is going to make 2026 the most delicious year in a long time.”
“I’ve eaten Mini Hut chicken since I moved to the Midway area in 2006,” said Clearing resident Miguel Estrada. “It’s the best, so much better than KFC, Popeye’s, Brown’s or any of the big chains.”
“My whole family was sad when Mini Hut closed [in 2022],” added Summit resident Teresa Peretti. “We practically grew up on that chicken. It was always such a treat when my dad brought it home after work. I can’t wait to try it again.”
Locally owned and operated
Mini Hut had a soft opening on Friday, February 6 in its old spot in the rear of 6659 W. Archer (at Normandy). Until recently, the space had been home to Tamal Gourmet, a Colombian-themed restaurant.
Mini Hut’s owner is 21-year-old Brett Gomez, a Garfield Ridge native.
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| Mini Hut owner Brett Gomez |
“I’m a neighborhood kid who’s always had a passion for the food industry,” he told the Southwest Chicago Post in a recent conversation. “I’m thrilled to bring Mini Hut back and serve top-quality food at a reasonable price.”
Brett graduated from St. Jane de Chantal School in 2019 and Kennedy High School in 2023, but not before starring on the Crusaders’ basketball court and setting records in both single-season scoring (654 points) and career points (1,054) for the Blue and Gold. At the same time, he maintained an “A” average in academics.
He grew up in the food business, working first at his father’s delicatessens in the Loop as a boy and then at the Popeye’s in Bridgeview as a teen. In 2024 he launched Halsted Street Dawgs in Romeoville, the first restaurant he owned.
But Mini Hut was always on his mind.
“I’ve been eating Mini Hut chicken since I was 4 years old,” he says. “I wanted to bring it back, and I’m glad to be doing exactly that.”
It became a Garfield Ridge legend
Mini Hut was founded as not much more than a shack in 1972, at the northwest corner of the old Ridge Shopping Center (near Archer and Mayfield), on land that today is home to Jewel-Osco.
It built a loyal following, both for its hot dogs and butter crust chicken.
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| Mini Hut's refurbished entrance |
With its building (and others) bulldozed in 1998 to make way for Jewel, Mini Hut moved to Archer and Normandy, in a space that for years had been home to Pascual’s Taco—and years before that, in the 1960s, to Jon’s Bakery.
There, owner Don Engel (who later passed away in 2022) perfected the butter crust recipe and built Mini Hut into one of the most popular independent fast-food restaurants in the entire Midway area.
In the new millennium, Mini Hut began to attract attention from Loop food critics.
In 2013, Chicago’s Best TV host Ted Brunson said Mini Hut chicken has “ginormous flavor.”
In a 2014 profile, Tribune writer Kevin Pang described Mini Hut’s butter crust chicken as “super sexy” and “the most gorgeously golden chicken pieces I’ve ever laid eyes upon” and “the brittle crust breaks off as delicate as sugar glass.”
That’s exactly what Brett Gomez is bringing back.
Legendary butter crust chicken, always made fresh to order—expect to wait 20 minutes, but customers agree it’s worth the wait.
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| Mini Hut's menu includes many mouth-watering favorites. |
And while chicken is the star of the show, Brett says Mini Hut’s menu includes top-quality Vienna Beef hot dogs and other products, including fresh (never frozen) hamburgers, Italian beef roasted in house, and more.
Brett expects to employ about eight people at the new restaurant.
Mini Hut is open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sundays. The phone number to call in orders is (773) 306-0245.
The renovated interior of the restaurant includes six tables for folks who want to dine in, but the lion’s share of business will inevitably be carryout. Mini Hut also will have its own delivery drivers, as well as be available via Uber Eats and DoorDash.
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