Seafood restaurant moving into previous Beef Shack location in St. Charles

A shack of a different kind plans to open in Beef Shack’s former location in St. Charles as plans continue to move forward for Beef Shack to open a new restaurant near its old location.

Chums Shrimp Shack has announced it will move from its current location at 116 Penny Ave. in East Dundee to the former Beef Shack building at 2115 W. Main St. in St. Charles. Chums opened in 2019.

“As many of you have heard, Chums Shrimp Shack will be moving to Saint Charles later this month!” states a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

The St. Charles Plan Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday on Beef Shack’s plans to open in the former TitleMax building at 2015 W. Main St. in St. Charles, near its former location, which closed in February 2020.

BS St. Charles LLC/Beef Shack has filed a special use application for a restaurant and a special use application for a drive-thru facility.

Beef Shack’s St. Charles restaurant, which opened in 2011, was the first Beef Shack in the franchise chain. Plans are to move the restaurant to the location nearby at the intersection of West Main Street and Randall Road.

“We’re very excited about that location,” said Dan Perillo, CEO of Beef Shack and president of Rosati’s Pizza, in talking about the plans recently. “There’s a lot of traffic on Main Street and Randall Road. So we’re very excited to be at that location.”

Perillo is a St. Charles resident. Beef Shack is known for its Cheezy Beef on garlic bread. It also sells burgers, Chicago style Vienna Beef hot dogs, sandwiches, salads, shakes and other items.

“We’re very, very ecstatic about coming back to St. Charles, where it all began,” he said. “It’s going to be bigger and better. That’s the way I look at it.”

Beef Shack also has locations in Elgin, Huntley, Bartlett, Joliet and DeKalb. Plans are to add more locations in the coming months.

The fact that the building is so close to its previous location is just a coincidence, he said.

“Property that has a drive-thru capability is hard to find,” Perillo said. And we’re going to have a drive-thru there.”

The previous restaurant did not have the amenity.

The company about a month ago signed a long-term lease for the building. The goal is for the restaurant to open by the end of the year.

The building is more than twice the size of the previous restaurant, which will allow for more seating.

“We’re going to have 40 to 50 seats in there,” he said. “The other restaurant probably had 15 or 16 seats altogether.”

The plan is to make Beef Shack a national franchise, he said.

“By the end of next year, we’re going to start franchising pretty much all over the country at that point,” Perillo said.