“For a certain type of person, appearing in an episode of the hit show The Bear makes something a Chicago icon. Pequod’s, Margie’s Candies, Grant Achatz, Genie Kwon, Kevin Boehm: the showrunners know who and what in the restaurant business are valued in this town.
“But regulars at White Palace Grill, a 24-hour diner located at 1159 S. Canal St. in the South Loop, know there’s more to being an institution than appearing on a TV series – even if White Palace Grill will notch that accolade in the upcoming final season of The Bear, which filmed at White Palace this winter.
“Longevity helps: White Palace Grill opened in 1939. So does continuity: the diner has only had three owners over its nearly nine decades of existence, having been purchased by current owner George Liakopoulos from near-original owner Arthur Bookman at the end of the millennium. Timelessness – an appealing way of saying a stubborn resistance to change – also might play a role, especially as independent diners slowly fade away.
“Even if White Palace Grill has bowed to some pressures – for instance swapping chicken for veal parmesan and offering online to-go ordering – it still has formica tables at its booths, coin-operated gumball machines by its door, and an exhaustive menu featuring everything from waffles to ribs, club sandwiches to omelettes, all at relatively low prices. The most expensive item by far is a steak for $31.99.
“A location just outside of downtown near expressways and a door that never locks, 365 days a year and 24 hours a day, means White Palace Grill can be a lot of things for a lot of different people: students from the nearby University of Illinois at Chicago eating between classes, late-night revellers from the West or South Loop forestalling hangovers, early morning commuters, blue-collar workers on lunch break, nostalgic retirees, pre- or post-game Bulls or Bears fans.
“‘It’s Chicago’s meeting place,’ says Joe Liakopoulos, who helps his father George run the business. ‘You truly get all walks of life. We’re open to everybody. We welcome everybody.’
“White Palace Grill may not have changed much over the decades, but its surroundings certainly have. Like nearby Jim’s Original – which also traces its origins to 1939 – it’s one of the few remaining vestiges of the port-of-entry Maxwell Street market area. It’s even older than the legendary Manny’s, two blocks away, which moved to its location on South Jefferson Street in 1964.” (Hinkel and Daniel Hautzinger, WTTW Chicago, 4/7/26)