TV Restaurants

Is Al's #1 Italian Beef Still Open? Food Paradise Update (Chicago, IL)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Al's #1 Italian Beef is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
alsbeef.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Yelp's listing, updated August 2026, and Al's own website together show the River North location still operating with posted hours and a working phone number.

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What happened after Food Paradise?

The episode featured Al's #1 Italian Beef's signature Italian beef sandwich, scratch-cooked and hand-sliced in house. Al's is a beef stand in the River North neighborhood of Chicago that has served the sandwich since 1938, according to its own website. According to Yelp, updated August 2026, the River North location at 548 N Wells St continues to operate, with photos and reviews posted through that update. Al's own website (alsbeef.com) lists a working phone number, a dedicated River North location page, and delivery/pickup ordering links, though its copyright notice still reads 2024. According to a Wikipedia entry on Chicago Franchise Systems, Inc., revised 2026-01-31, that company has operated Chicago-style restaurants across Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri since taking over the Nancy's Pizza chain in 1990; the entry does not address this specific Al's Beef location.

Featured on Food Paradise

Season / episode
Season 9, Episode 8
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Italian Eats
What was featured
Al's classic Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich, scratch-cooked in house
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Al's #1 Italian Beef

Frequently asked questions

Is Al's #1 Italian Beef still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Al's #1 Italian Beef is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

What happened to Al's #1 Italian Beef after Food Paradise?

The episode featured Al's #1 Italian Beef's signature Italian beef sandwich, scratch-cooked and hand-sliced in house. As of September 2026, Al's #1 Italian Beef is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed August 2026.

Where is Al's #1 Italian Beef located?

548 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Food Paradise featured Al's #1 Italian Beef?

Season 9, Episode 8 of Food Paradise. The episode is titled “Italian Eats”.

What do reviews say since Food Paradise?

According to Yelp, updated August 2026, the River North location at 548 N Wells St continues to operate, with photos and reviews posted through that update. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
548 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60654
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
alsbeef.com

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/als-beef-chicago-24
  • alsbeef.com — http://www.alsbeef.com/
  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Franchise_Systems,_Inc.

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Record fp-0601 · last verified .