CHICAGO, IL – We found this brief discussion with the Master Chef co-host and famed Chicago restaurateur  in the Chicago Redeye. The part that interested us most were his thoughts on becoming an owner/operator of his own food truck.

graham_elliot

Where are you at with Grahamburger, a new project you announced just after opening Grahamwich?

The idea is to take the best of both words with regards to hot dogs and hamburger artistry and combine it with our homemade sodas on tap and snacks that we do at Grahamwich. And then add a full bar and have shakes where you have different flavors, but then you can get different shots of alcohol added to them … and to do that in the same kind of laid-back punk-rock vibe that we have at the restaurant

[Graham Elliot], where there’s no pretense. We’re still looking for spaces, but we have the plan pretty fleshed out, so once we get it, it’s just going to be getting it set up and go from there. I think the Loop would be fun, with Millennium Park and Target going down there, it’s just totally changing and I think there’s a need for something like that. We’re looking at one [location] for right now, and then we’ll expand either Grahamwich or Grahamburger depending on which one makes the most sense.

What about the Grahambulance, the sandwich-selling VW van you tweeted about?
We’re waiting for the new mayor and all the things that come with that, seeing where permits are going to fall with regards to having a food truck. The idea is to simply take some of the items we have at Grahamwich and kind of peddle them around town, but instead of just being in one spot, we’d like to say, “Hey, we’re over at Wrigley Field and we’ve got this many sandwiches.” Then we’re bought out and that’s the end of the day.

Find the entire interview <here>