Fresh off the news of its smokin’ hot kickoff in Mariano’s stores, Pork & Mindy’s chef and owner Jeff “Sandwich King” Mauro is pleased to announce plans for two new stand-alone restaurants in the Chicago area, including one in Mauro’s hometown of Elmwood Park.

Pork & Mindy’s is slated to open at 7528 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park, on the village’s so-called Restaurant Row this summer, and at 4359 W. Irving Park Rd., in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood later this year, bringing Mauro’s signature Creative BBQ to even more pork-loving families and fans. 

Both restaurants will offer the full Pork & Mindy’s lineup for dine-in, carryout and catering. Menu highlights include Sangwiches stacked with smoked meats, tater-tot Tottys loaded with toppings, choose-your-own Meat Flights, veggie-laden Pit Bowls, salads, ‘Nado milkshakes and the restaurant’s famous sweet-and-savory Pig Candy. The Elmwood Park location also will feature a rooftop patio and regularly scheduled live music.  

Slow-smoked, hand-pulled meats, the star of the menu, are humanly raised, free of antibiotics and hormones and sourced largely from Midwestern farms. Housemade giardiniera, sauces and pickles are among the freshly made touches that take Pork & Mindy’s beyond typical barbecue.

Mauro and Kevin Corsello, his business partner and longtime friend, opened the first Pork & Mindy’s in 2016 in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood as an outlet for their shared passions of food, music and art. Mauro, who was born in Elmwood Park, shot to stardom as the Season 7 winner of the Food Network’s “Food Network Star.” He hosts “Sandwich King” and co-hosts “The Kitchen” on the Food Network.

The new storefronts in Elmwood Park and Old Irving Park will bring to six the number of Pork & Mindy’s restaurants in the Chicago area, with 28 to open inside Mariano’s grocery stores. There are also two Pork & Mindy’s outposts in Minneapolis and Denver.