Entry No. 126 — the Chicago file — filed under: smoked-fish
Calumet Fisheries
It is one room with a counter and no seating — you order at the window, take a butcher-paper bundle, and eat it outside or in the car. The smokehouse behind the shack goes back to the 1928 founding and still runs on natural wood: fish brined overnight, salmon and sturgeon cut into steaks and hung on racks, doors left open to start the fire and shut down for the final smoke. The 95th Street bridge right there is the one the Bluesmobile jumps in The Blues Brothers, which is how most people first hear about it; the James Beard Foundation gave it an award in 2010 and CNN put it on a list of America's ten best historic restaurants, which is why they come back. Sid Kotlick and Len Toll bought it in 1948 and a Kotlick still owns it. An electrical fire closed the place in November 2023 — it reopened in June 2024, smoker included.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Chicago — never the same twice
The story
The smokehouse is older than the family that runs it. Calumet Fisheries was established in 1928 on the South Deering bank of the Calumet River, and in 1948 brothers-in-law Sid Kotlick and Len Toll took it over, wanting to serve the freshest fish on the South Side. The shop says it has stayed in the Kotlick-Toll family ever since; Mark Kotlick owns it now. Nothing has been softened for visitors: a one-room shack with a counter, and a company line unchanged in decades — strictly take-out, no seating, no bathrooms.
What justifies the trip is out back. Only a handful of working smokehouses are left in Illinois, and this one runs on fire rather than machinery: fish brined overnight, oak logs stoked at the bottom of the house, doors left open while the fire catches and shut for the long finish. Salmon, sturgeon and sable are cut into steaks, threaded with string and hung from racks; some salmon goes in whole; shrimp, clams and lake chub get tacked to planks. The smoked list sells by the pound and runs past the obvious — catfish, eel, herring, whitefish, pepper-and-garlic trout, and heads and collars for anyone who knows what to do with them. A separate fryer handles smelts, frogs legs, clam strips and oysters, plated with fries, coleslaw, crackers and sauce.
The wider world found it twice. For three days in the summer of 1979 it hosted the crew of The Blues Brothers; the bridge the Bluesmobile clears is the 95th Street bridge outside the door. Then in 2010 the James Beard Foundation named it one of five America's Classics honorees, an award for shacks and lunch counters serving food that reflects their community; CNN later listed it among the ten best historic restaurants in the country, and Anthony Bourdain filmed there for No Reservations. An electrical fire shut the place in November 2023. It reopened in June 2024, smokehouse intact.
What it's like
You order at a window in a one-room building and then you are on your own, because there is genuinely nowhere to sit and no restroom — the shop has said so in print for years. The smoked case and the fryer are effectively two separate transactions, so decide before you reach the counter: smoked fish is priced by the pound and cut to order, fried orders come in half and full sizes with fries and slaw. Bring cash; the printed menu says CASH ONLY in capitals, and you can call ahead on 773-933-9855 rather than queue. Then you carry a warm paper bundle out to the car, or eat standing with the Calumet River and the lift bridge in front of you. Dress for the wind coming off the water; the smell of oak smoke will follow you home in your coat.
The move: Get there around 8 on a clear night and order across both halves of the counter: a half pound of smoked salmon and a half pound of smoked shrimp from the smokehouse side, plus a basket of fried perch. Eat it off the hood leaning on the car with the lift bridge and the river in front of you — this is the rare date where the lack of a dining room is the atmosphere. Then drive five minutes east to Calumet Park and finish at the lakefront.
📍 Before you go 3259 E 95th St, Chicago IL 60617, 773-933-9855; open Sun–Wed 10 a.m.–9:45 p.m., Thu 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 9 a.m.–9:45 p.m., closed New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is no dining room, no table and no seat — bring napkins and something to eat off, and dress for wind off the river. It has a long cash-only reputation, so carry cash rather than counting on a card. Street parking only, and the smoked items are a separate order from the fried, so decide before you get to the window.
- 📍 Chicago
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 3259 E 95th St, Chicago, IL 60617
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Steelworkers Park Ore Walls — The ore walls are barely a mile up the lakefront and explain the landscape you are eating in — the mill that fed this stretch of the Calumet, reduced to two concrete slabs.
- Lem's Bar-B-Q — The other South Side smoke shrine, also family-run since the 1950s, also fundamentally a counter — do both in an afternoon and argue about oak versus the aquarium smoker.
- The Original Rainbow Cone — Dessert with an actual bench, half an hour west in Beverly, and the same stubborn refusal to change the formula since the 1920s.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
How do I get there, and where do I park?
It is at 3259 E 95th St in South Deering, at the east end of the 95th Street bridge over the Calumet River — a genuinely far-southeast corner of the city, so most people drive. There is street parking on 95th and no lot, and many customers simply eat in their cars out front, which the shop has always treated as normal.
Can I pay by card?
No. The shop's own printed menu states CASH ONLY, so bring bills. There is no dining room to wait in while someone runs for an ATM.
Is there anywhere to sit or a bathroom?
Neither. Calumet Fisheries describes itself as strictly a take-out business with no seating and no bathrooms. Plan the stop accordingly — eat off the hood, or take it somewhere with a table.
Can I order ahead or for a crowd?
Yes. The menu says to order at the counter or call ahead on 773-933-9855, which is worth doing for a large smoked-fish order. Chubs are marked call for availability, so ring first if that is what you came for.
What are the hours, and does it close for holidays?
Sunday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. It is open every day except New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-08-26