Jim's Original traces back to a hot dog stand at Maxwell and Halsted Streets, where an immigrant known as Jimmy took over his aunt's stand and, in 1943, piled grilled Polish sausage onto a bun with sweet grilled onions and mustard — the Original Maxwell Street Polish Sausage Sandwich. The stand became a fixture of the old Maxwell Street Market, so identified with the place that people still associate the smell of grilled onions with it.
UIC expansion pushed the stand off its original corner in 2001 and again in 2005, landing it at Union Avenue and James Rochford Street in Little Italy. The menu has stayed close to its roots: the Polish sausage sandwich alongside other stand classics like the pork chop sandwich, served bone-in on a bun, with fries included alongside sandwiches.
Jim's Original is the longest continuously operating stand to have done business on Maxwell Street, with a history stretching back to 1939.
UIC expansion pushed the stand off its original corner in 2001 and again in 2005, landing it at Union Avenue and James Rochford Street in Little Italy. The menu has stayed close to its roots: the Polish sausage sandwich alongside other stand classics like the pork chop sandwich, served bone-in on a bun, with fries included alongside sandwiches.
Jim's Original is the longest continuously operating stand to have done business on Maxwell Street, with a history stretching back to 1939.