Publications & Sites 
Maxwell Street-Style Grill coming to Lincolnwood
Article Extras
Updated: March 11, 2013 2:20AM
LINCOLNWOOD — Those fixing for something grilled with fries need not look further for the classic urban meal.
The Lincolnwood family responsible for making the Maxwell Street Polish synonymous with Chicago is bringing its famous sausage stand home.
Tomislav Lazarevski, the 78-year-old founder of Express Grill, is entrusting his grandson Miroslav “Mick” Momirovic with overseeing the family business’ first suburban location.
The Original Maxwell Street-Style Grill is slinging burgers, franks, and other fast-food fare for carry out from 6485 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincolnwood.
Village officials and the Lincolnwood Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the new grill at a grand-opening ceremony last Friday.
Lazarevski’s first 24-hour stand opened in the city’s old Maxwell Street market district, celebrated as the birthplace to Chicago blues and the Maxwell Street Polish sausage sandwich.
Unlike the original stand, customers of the Lincolnwood grill can place orders indoors, but in keeping with tradition, they’ll have to take the food to go or eat at the countertop as there’s no such thing as seating around there.
The new grill also features the tried-and-true menu of its predecessor. Momirovic credits his family’s unique sausage seasoning and complimentary bag of fries for keeping customers coming back for decades.
All sandwiches come topped the way the Windy City likes its Polish sausage, with a slathering of yellow mustard, grilled sweet onions piled high, and a few sport peppers.
“No catsup,” Momirovic confirmed. “This is our style for 45 years. It never changed.”
The arrival of the Original Maxwell Street-Style Grill fits within the village’s plan to revive the Lincoln Avenue Corridor.
Oberweis Dairy, which owns the property at 6485 N. Lincoln Ave., previously leased the existing building to an auto body shop, according to the village’s Community Development Director Timothy Clarke.
After the agreement expired, the triangular piece of property became vacant for a number of years.
The village, meanwhile, had sought to limit the number of auto-related businesses on the corridor in order to foster mixed-use development. When the 2008 recession struck, work on transforming the Lincolnwood arterial was put on hold.
Now, four years later, the Original Maxwell Street-Style Grill is picking up where the village left off, Clarke said.
“This is one of the newest locations in the area,” he said. “We believe it will be great addition.
“We’re very excited about (it) opening.”
While it’s been some time since 78-year-old Tomislav Lazarevski put on an apron and yellow Vienna Beef paper hat, he got right to work last Friday.
Lazarevski’s daughter Debbie Lazarevski and grandson Miroslav “Mick” Momirovic are overseeing the family’s first suburban location.
With Maxwell Street fare now closer to home, Tomislav Lazarevski may be willingly pulled out of retirement.
“He’ll be here every other day,” Violeta Lazarevski said of her father-in-law. “It’s in his blood.”
