Pita Inn, the suburban Middle Eastern favorite known for its falafel, shawarma, and kabobs, is finally coming inside city limits. The chain says it will open its first Chicago restaurant in the Six Corners redevelopment this winter, just as crews keep transforming the long-vacant Sears Auto Center into standalone retail buildings, new parking and mixed-use space around the historic intersection.
As reported by Block Club Chicago, Pita Inn’s post says the Six Corners outpost is part of a broader plan that includes a Burlington department store and a Wells Fargo branch. Block Club also relays a developer note that the new retail parcel will include more than 100 parking spaces, a detail that is already raising eyebrows among neighbors who prefer people over tailpipes.
Developer And Permits
Novak Construction, the developer behind the larger Six Corners adaptive-reuse project, lists new ground-floor retail and residential amenities in its project materials. Novak Construction lays out the overall scope, while construction permits for a restaurant shell at the site were filed in late 2025, according to Chicago YIMBY. Those filings referenced a core-and-shell permit and related paperwork for adjacent parcels, the kind of behind-the-scenes bureaucracy that quietly sets the table long before anyone bites into a falafel.
Timeline And Size
The opening date is still slippery. Pita Inn's social post points to “this winter,” while earlier coverage and the local chamber have projected a mid- to late-2026 timetable instead. Eater Chicago reported that the restaurant would occupy the former Sears Auto Center parcel at 4035 N. Cicero Ave. and said the company hoped the space could seat more than 200 guests. The Portage Park Chamber of Commerce likewise lists completion for late 2026, a reminder that construction calendars in Chicago often move at their own pace.
Pita Inn's Roots And What It Will Serve
Founded by Falah and Asma Tabahi in Skokie in 1982, Pita Inn has expanded to Wheeling, Glenview, Mundelein and Naperville and built a loyal following for its made-to-order pita, hummus and affordable kabob plates. Pita Inn traces the chain's growth and emphasizes consistent recipes and value, and the company has said the Chicago location will largely mirror that formula rather than reinvent it for the city.
Neighborhood Reaction And Design Concerns
Local boosters see the project as a key step in reviving Six Corners, long defined by its empty Sears complex. At the same time, some neighbors and online commenters worry the plan leans too hard into car culture and not enough into walkable, mixed-use streets. Chicago YIMBY captured readers' comments criticizing the single-story, parking-heavy design, while the Portage Park Chamber highlighted the new jobs and retail choices the development promises. That tension, economic lift versus urban design tradeoffs, will help shape how the project moves through permitting, buildout and the court of public opinion.
Whether Pita Inn opens this winter or slides to late 2026, the chain’s first city location is set up as a high-profile test of how a suburban-grown brand fits into Chicago's neighborhood fabric. We will keep an eye on permit filings and developer updates as the Six Corners build inches toward the projected late-2026 finish line.
