Carnitas Uruapan Will Expand With a Third Location in Little Village

According to a recent job post , Carnitas Uruapan will soon expand with another location at 3801 W 26th Street.

“This will be the third location for Carnitas Uruapan. For our opening timeline, we are currently shooting for a June opening, depending on a few factors. We will be continuing our long-standing legacy of what we know, and maintaining the tradition of carnitas,” owner Marcos Carbajal told What Now Chicago .

“We will have the same menu as our other locations on the food side. This location will be an updated, and slightly more design-forward location. We will use a lot of materials from the Michoacan region in Mexico, such as terracotta and copper. We will aim to pay homage to the history of the location since it is kind of considered to be a historic art deco building from the ’20s.”

“At one point it was an old furniture store, but most famously it was a Mexican nightclub and restaurant in the 80s and 90s. We are looking to have live music on Sundays to pay homage to that. Additionally, we are pursuing a liquor license to be able to add a beverage program. The beverage program will be focused on regional spirits, and batched cocktails made from charanda.”

“Charanda is an artisanal type of cane spirit, which is similar to rum. We will provide charanda flights and cocktails. On the mezcal side, we will be carrying a line from La Luna, and also have mezcal flights and cocktails. One fun additional we will have will be QR codes that are attached to the flights, so customers can see me from when I went down to Mexico and learn more about the spirits.”

“My dad, Inocencio Carbajal, started the business in 1975 in Pilsen, with the menu being focused on carnitas and the side dishes that accompany it that he learned from his dad and uncle who had their carniceria in the ”40s-’60s.”

“Overall, Carnitas Uruapan’s menu is a family recipe that goes far back. The idea is to have it taste and be the experience of going to a carniceria back in the old days. Over the years we have adapted. My dad is semi-retired, and I took over about 10 years ago. Before this, I used to be a banker and decided to go into it the business and expand.”

“I’ve had the idea for this expansion for about five to six years, and I needed to find the right place to do it. I initially decided to go for Gage Park, but have had my eye on getting over to the Little Village area for a long time.”

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