1 day Ago By Louisa Kung Liu Chu
A Filipino Hawaiian bodega opened recently to a surprise line two blocks long in Chicago. Kanin celebrated its grand opening in the Ravenswood neighborhood on March 8 . “It’s kind of your corner convenience store,” said chef and co-owner Julius Tacadena.
“You can buy snacks, and you can buy drinks.” Kanin means rice in Tagalog, one of the major languages spoken in the Philippines. Tacadena is Filipino American.
He was born in the Philippines, but moved to Hawaii at 6 months old with his parents. “There’s a strong Filipino presence in Hawaii,” said the chef, who grew up on the island of Kauai. “So I never really felt that disconnected to my roots.
” He moved to Chicago with his parents in 2005 at the beginning of high school, and worked in neighborhood restaurants through college. His musubi has already become the staple that holds the shop together, said co-owner Francis Almeda . Musubi is the Hawaiian snack that starts with a rectangular rice block, typically topped with grilled Spam and wrapped with nori, or dried seaweed.
Almeda is the entrepreneur who’s also behind Side Practice Coffee next door, Novel Pizza in Pilsen and Drip Collective coffee shop in the West Loop, among other ventures. “I just help bring things into reality,” he said. “And make it happen.
” Kanin co-owners Francis Almeda, left, and Chef Julius Tacadena at their Ravenswood restaurant on March 21, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) But reality exceeded their expectations. “We went out at 10:30 to take pictures of the ribbon cutting,” said Tacadena about their grand opening morning.
Social media manager and business partner Noah Rabaya found about 30 people in line, with 30 minutes until their 11 a.m. opening time.
“And Noah was like, ‘Are you guys here for us?’” Tacadena said. “And then a half-hour later, Francis ran in, he’s like, ‘Hey, you need to come outside.’” The line stretched south on Damen Avenue, and eventually crossed Winnemac Avenue two blocks away.
“We had prepped what I thought was enough food for Saturday and Sunday,” Tacadena said. “At 11:30 I ran in the back, and was like, ‘We gotta cook it all.’” Because they have a motto that’s emblazoned in the shop.
“‘Everybody eats,’” said the chef. “And the last thing I wanted to do on grand opening was turn away a line of people.” Customers Hae Bae, left, and her husband, Steve Chung, eat their meal at Kanin on March 21, 2025.
(Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) People said they waited about an hour to an hour and a half in line. “We had anywhere between 800 to 1,000 people in line,” said Tacadena. But they had enough food to stay open until 4 p.
m., exactly as they planned it. “We fed people for five hours straight then closed the doors and just sort of all collapsed.
” Their bestselling items so far are the Spam musubi, longganisa and egg musubi, and an ube banana pudding sold by the quart. Longganisa is the slightly sweet and spiced sausage, traditionally eaten at breakfast with sinangag, or garlic fried rice. The chef recommends grabbing the longganisa and egg musubi first, because that’s the one that sells out the fastest.
“It’s a block of rice that we season with fried garlic and furikake,” Tacadena said. Furikake is the dry Japanese condiment, traditionally made for rice. The seasoned rice gets topped with a grilled and charred longganisa patty, and a slice of tamagoyaki, or Japanese rolled omelette.
“Then just wrapped in nori.” Longganisa and egg musubi is served at Kanin in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) But if there was a runner-up, said Almeda, it’s the tamarind shrimp musubi.
The opening menu also offers barbecue chicken skewers, chimichurri pork skewers, cucumber salad and macaroni salad, a staple side in Hawaii. The mini-market features popular and personally significant snacks. “Things that were very close to my heart growing up,” Tacadena said about the Filipino brands.
“We also have a small selection that I kind of made for the kids. Francis has two toddlers, and I have one, so I just wanted there to be a little piece of the shop that was available to the young ones right when they come in with their parents.” The coolers display a colorful dozen or so Hawaiian Sun drinks.
One of the most popular flavors is the Pass-O-Guava (passion fruit, orange and guava). “We have every flavor that we can get our hands on,” Tacadena said about the canned tropical juice drinks made in Hawaii. “They’re a big nostalgic part of my childhood.
” Kanin makes bold design statements. But once you walk in, said Almeda, it’s super tiny. “You walk down the stairs, and you’re greeted with three fridges,” he said.
Two hold drinks, and the third holds the ube banana pudding. On the walls, you’ll see art pieces, mostly by local Filipino American artists. The many plants are from the Plant Shop Chicago.
Anime plays on the television. Artwork on display at Kanin, where you’ll see art pieces mostly by local Filipino American artists. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) “So it’s a really homey vibe,” said Almeda.
There are only six seats inside, but more to come outside when weather permits. “And we’re really grateful and blessed to have the staff that we magically formed, who are the most hospitable, and have the same energy and love that we have when we welcome people into our space.” Their team includes general manager Ryan Valhuerdi , co-owner Jarod Villanosa and more staff hired after the overwhelming grand opening.
It’s remarkable that Tacadena began Kanin as a breakfast pop-up at Novel Pizza just last August, when he first met Almeda. “It was kind of like meeting a long-lost brother,” said Tacadena, who still works his 9 to 5 job at Pinterest as a recruiting manager. Almeda also had a musubi idea that he always wanted to bring to life.
But not being from Hawaii, the entrepreneurial restaurateur thought he didn’t deserve to take that on. “At the same time I was actually eyeing the place right next door to Side Practice Coffee,” he added. They signed a lease and bought all the equipment of what was Sweet Virginia’s Kitchen in November.
The timeline of their friendship and business partnership has all been really quick, said Almeda. “But honestly, it just felt right,” Almeda added. “He’s a brother that I didn’t know I had, and we happened to find each other.
” Kanin co-owners chef Julius Tacadena, left, and Francis Almeda share in conversation and a meal outside their Filipino Hawaiian bodega. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) Future menus may offer Filipino Hawaiian plate lunches and poke bowls, available through online ordering. “We launched with, I’m not exaggerating, like a 10th of the menu that I had planned,” said Tacadena.
“We know that Spam musubi is not hard to make. And no, we don’t understand why people are waiting an hour and half in line to eat it,” he added laughing. “This is also a mystery to us.
” 5131 N. Damen Ave., instagram.
com/kanin.chi More new openings, in alphabetical order: Cafe Yaya From the team behind Galit , the critically acclaimed Middle Eastern restaurant owned and operated by Andrés Clavero and James Beard Award-winning chef Zach Engel, comes a bakery and all-day cafe next door. Cafe Yaya opened in Lincoln Park on March 12 .
For breakfast you’ll find pastries and latte art, then for dinner, a Big Sis lamb burger with za’atar mayo and “this week’s ice cream sundae,” plus a tahini-washed Italian vermouth in Negroni, Americano and spritz cocktails. 2431 N. Lincoln Ave.
, cafeyaya.com Del Sur Bakery Pastry chef Justin Lerias became known for his “Filipino flavors with Midwestern flair” through pop-ups at Side Practice Coffee. Del Sur Bakery, his debut business, just opened in Lincoln Square — with a line out the door — on March 29 .
Look for four signature pastries: a turon Danish, longganisa croissant, calamansi bun and ube oatmeal cream pie. 4639 N. Damen Ave.
, delsurchicago.com Garcia’s Chicago Jerry Garcia, the lead guitarist and vocalist of the Grateful Dead, inspired this new “live music and restaurant experience.” Garcia’s Chicago, a collaboration with the late musician’s family, began jamming in the West Loop on March 21 .
(It’s in the former Wishbone space, not to be confused with Garcia’s Mexican restaurant in Lincoln Square.) Jerry’s roast beef sandwich, with thin-sliced prime rib and provolone, is made on a Dutch crunch roll , a San Francisco-area favorite for deli sandwiches. 1001 W.
Washington Blvd., garciaschicago.live Sharpies Pizza + Cocktails The team behind Ada Street, the restaurant by chef Ryan Bair and co-owner Scott Koehl, has launched a pizzeria specializing in Detroit-style pies.
Sharpies Pizza + Cocktails blasted off in West Town on March 9 . The cosmic-themed menu features a Sweet & Salty Space Candy pizza with pineapple and bacon, Big Bang Buffalo wings and an S.S.
Sharpie tropical cocktail. 1721 N. Elston Ave.
, 312-772-2368, sharpiespizza.com Zarela Pizzeria & Taverna Chefs Chris Pandel (Swift & Sons) and Lee Wolen (Boka) have “debated the finer points of pizza” for years, according to the Boka Restaurant Group. Zarela Pizzeria & Taverna, their partnership, settled those debates in River North on March 21 .
They’re making Chicago thin crust tavern-style and artisan pies with your choice of standard toppings (including giardiniera) and fancy toppings (including Smoking Goose mortadella) plus specialty pies (featuring a carbonara with Fra’ Mani smoked pancetta). 531 N. Wells St.
, 312-470-0250, zarellachicago.com Pizza by Middle Brow at The Beer Temple , a small Detroit-style pizzeria by the multidisciplinary “pizzary” (a Critic’s Choice Food Award recipient this year) within the craft beer shop and taproom, soft-launched in Avondale on March 12 . 3173 N.
Elston Ave., 773-754-0907, craftbeertemple.com Related Articles Restaurant chain Hooters goes bust and files for bankruptcy protection La Grange group continues to promote positivity long past its pandemic origin Illinois is first to mandate halal, kosher meals be available in public institutions such as schools, but concerns remain Clarendon Hills plans village’s first ever Restaurant Week Are your kitchen knives dull? Northside Cutlery, run by a former chef, can fix that Taqueria Chingón, which closed temporarily in November, and is the origin story behind the best taco program in the city, just announced a new location in the West Loop expected to open May 1 .
817 W. Fulton Market, instagram.com/taqueriachingon Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken on 47th Street , the South Side location of the legendary West Side restaurant founded by Gus Rickette with his late wife Mary, closed after 10 years in Bronzeville on March 2 , but the team is searching for a new home.
The flagship in the Austin neighborhood and the suburban location in Broadview remain open. Do you have notable restaurant news in the Chicago area? Email food critic Louisa Kung Liu Chu at [email protected] .
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