FULTON MARKET — After more than 17 years in business, Cemitas Puebla will close its final Chicago shop Friday.
Known for its regional Mexican sandwiches from Puebla, Mexico, restaurant owners announced it would close the shop at 817 W. Fulton Market Friday. The Fulton Market location was open for five years.
“We have enjoyed providing you with hospitality for the last 5 years in this location and are grateful to have played such an enthusiastic part in the West Loop community, owners wrote on Facebook. “There were multiple factors that led to this difficult decision but ultimately we believe it is the right one for us.”
Cemitas Puebla served sandwiches made with a sesame seed bread, similar in consistency to brioche; a pounded-thin then breaded cut of steak or pork loin; avocado; a chipotle pepper sauce; and an “abundance of Oaxacan cheese,” owner Tony Anteliz told DNAinfo in 2014.
“It’s a torta made in a certain way,” he said at the time.
The first Cemitas Puebla opened in Humboldt Park in 2002. Inspired by his roots, founder Tony Anteliz has help from his father Antonio, who would travel back to Mexico to get fresh ingredients.
Anteliz eventually expanded to Hyde Park, Logan Square and Fulton Market. All of the other shops have since closed.
Anteliz has not been involved in operating the restaurant for more than two years, operating partner Janelle Weber told the Tribune.
In recent months, people complained on Yelp that the quality of the cemitas had declined.
Over the course of its 13-year run, the original Humboldt Park restaurant, famous for its cemitas sandwiches and tacos, earned rave reviews from locals and foodies alike. It was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” before closing in 2015 due to a landlord dispute, according to DNAinfo.
A representative for the restaurant could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cemitas Puebla will close the shop just after lunch service at 2 p.m. Friday.
Cemitas Puebla is the latest restaurant closing on Fulton Market. In December, popular restaurant La Sirena Clandestina closed after seven years, citing skyrocketing property taxes. In November, the Fulton Galley food hall shuttered less than five months in business.
Do stories like this matter to you? Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.