Is Mr. Beef on Orleans Still Open? Food Paradise Update (Chicago, IL)

Food Paradise, Season 10, Episode 2

The episode featured Mr. Beef's Italian beef sandwich, spotlighting the shaved beef typically served with or without au jus and topped with roasted bell peppers, according to restaurant review aggregators. Founded in 1979 by Joe Zucchero as a River North beef stand, the restaurant is now a well-known fixture of Chicago's Italian-beef scene, according to Wikipedia. Recent 2026 diner reviews on Yelp described the beef as well-cooked and tender, according to Yelp. The business remains active: Yelp listed the restaurant as updated in June 2026 with 786 reviews, according to Yelp. The restaurant's own hours-and-location page, checked 2026-09-08, listed Monday-through-Saturday service from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a map for the River North address, according to the site. The stand keeps its original no-frills, counter-service setup, according to Wikipedia.

You Gotta Eat Here!, Season 3, Episode 25 Aired July 4, 2014

The 'Chicago Edition' hour of You Gotta Eat Here! (S3E25, first aired 2014-07-04 according to TVDB) took host John Catucci through deep-dish pizza, iconic beef sandwiches and historic deli dishes, and Prime Video's season 3 listing names Mr. Beef as the beef-sandwich stop, alongside Lou Malnati's Pizzeria and Manny's Delicatessan. Mr. Beef sells Italian beef sandwiches, along with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and pizza puffs, from 666 North Orleans Street in the River North neighborhood, according to Wikipedia's article on the restaurant, read 2026-10-20. That article dates the stand to 1979 and credits Joe Zucchero as its founder. It also says the shop inspired the FX series The Bear and served as that show's storefront, and it lists other television appearances on Food Wars, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.