Southern Food Restaurant In Elmhurst Planned

ELMHURST, IL – A Southern food restaurant is planned for the building that housed the old Nana's Hot Dogs at 562 W. Lake St.

It's unclear when Nana's closed, but its regular social media presence ended in January 2022.

A sign is now on the building saying that Aunt Tina's Kitchen is coming soon. It advertises that it will sell "Southern comfort food."

The owners, Tony and Abbey Cannon, run a food truck called Aunt Tina's Sound Bites.

According to its website, the business is named after "our Aunt Tina," who died unexpectedly three years ago. She was said to be a good singer and often sang Aretha Franklin for karaoke.

"She had a deep love for both food and music. Her entire career was spent in the restaurant industry as a kitchen manager, and she hired Tony at 14 years old to work in her kitchen," the website said.

The Cannons are described on the website as an interracial couple.

"(T)hey also have a passion for diversity and unity and are keenly aware of the deep historic roots of segregation within Chicago and its suburbs," the website said. "Because food and music bring ALL people together, this food truck has a mission to improve both issues, and help connect our communities in UNITY."

On its Instagram page, the restaurant said it is hiring, starting at $15 an hour.

The restaurant does not indicate its opening day.

On Tuesday, Alderman Michael Bram posted a photo on Facebook of the restaurant building.

"I am out on this beautiful day and wanted to share this new business coming to town," Bram said. "It’s great to see a new business taking over the former Nana’s hotdogs."