Nick’s Pit Stop doesn’t go out of its way to cater to the police. There are no wall hooks to accommodate the gray Kevlar vests–most officers either keep them on or hang them over the backs of the red vinyl dinette chairs. And finding a parking space can be tough, even for a marked car.
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The main attraction at Nick’s is chicken–charbroiled three-pound birds split down the middle and seasoned with a citrus marinade and a signature 15-spice rub. Other menu selections consist of a charbroiled chicken pita sandwich, charbroiled chicken salad, and chili made with–that’s right–charbroiled chicken. That’s exactly why so many police officers eat here.
Backing from the blue is fine by owner Nick Kadjan. “Some restaurants may think having that many cops would be detrimental to business, but I like it,” he says. “And it keeps the chicken moving.” Kadjan believes Nick’s first showed up on police radar when he called 911 to report drug dealing in the alley behind his building. That was five years ago, when he was the new kid on a stretch of Damen just north of Armitage considered to be the fringe of a still-risky neighborhood.
Nick’s Pit Stop is at 2011 N. Damen, 773-342-9736.
