TV Restaurants

Honky Tonk BBQ Is Now The Tonk Chicago — What Happened After the Show?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 7 Chicago, Illinois

Current status

Renamed

As of October 2026, thetonkchicago.com lists this address as The Tonk Chicago; reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026, not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What the source shows: The restaurant's current website shows it now operating under the name 'The Tonk Chicago' at the same Pilsen address, with live-music listings dated into September 2026 and a 2026 copyright notice. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Honky Tonk BBQ in "Barbequed, Baked & Brined" (S7E8), which aired October 12, 2009, spotlighting the restaurant's Memphis-style smoked barbecue. Honky Tonk BBQ was a barbecue restaurant founded in 2007 by Willie Wagner in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, according to Wikipedia. The restaurant's current website, thetonkchicago.com, now operates under the name "The Tonk Chicago" at 1800 South Racine Avenue, listing live-music events dated into September 2026 and a copyright notice reading "2026." The site's online-ordering link still runs through a page titled "honky-tonk-bbq-1800-s-racine-ave," tying the current business to its earlier name.

Wikipedia's separate "The Tonk BBQ" entry likewise places the business, under its new name, at the same Pilsen location. Based on the current website, the business appears to have been renamed from Honky Tonk BBQ to The Tonk while continuing to operate at the same address.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 7

Episode 8
Aired
Title: Barbequed, Baked & Brined · What was featured: Memphis-style smoked barbecue and live music
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 7 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 7: 26 of 39 still open · 2 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 7 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 1800 South Racine Avenue

All 220 TV restaurants in Illinois →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. thetonkchicago.com https://thetonkchicago.com/
  2. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tonk_BBQ
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Record ddd-0263 · checked by Cal Marchetti.