The first Uncle Julio's opened in 1986 in Texas. It quickly expanded and the location at 855 W North Avenue was the first one in Illinois. The area was smartly chosen because North and Clybourn was an up and coming shopping destination with very little restaurant competition.
Having worked there for four years in the '90s I cut my teeth on the bartending experience and the leftover tamales at the end of the night. It was nostalgiac to return to my old stomping grounds and try food I hadn't in the past.