Salads at 'sweetgreen' to replace old Hamburger Mary's

A national salad chain is coming to the former Hamburger Mary’s storefront at 5400 N. Clark St., according to Andersonville real estate insiders.

Branded as ‘sweetgreen’ with a lowercase ‘s,’ it currently does not have an opening date.

The eatery was founded by three college students in Washington, D.C. looking for healthier alternatives to fast food.

sweetgreen is now led from Los Angeles—at a corporate campus called The Treehouse.

Hamburger Mary’s, an LGBT mainstay in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, featured drag queen kitsch motifs.

It closed on November 1, 2020—a victim of pandemic-driven downturn in business.

sweetgreen capitalizes in an ongoing industry switch toward lighter-fare fast food—dubbed by marketers as fast casual dining.

Fast casual emphasizes quality-sourced, mostly organic ingredients to a younger generation that want “clean eating” as opposed to generations of classic American hamburgers and hot dogs with a side of fries.

sweetgreen has over 100 locations in a handful of states and expects to grow.

Downtown Chicago is home to a cluster of sweetgreen eateries.

The company is currently hiring general managers and managers for the Chicago area.

Hamburger Mary is still open in other cities: Clearwater, Fla.; Denver; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Long Beach, Calif.; Ontario, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Puerto Vallarta; St. Louis, Mo.; San Francisco; Toledo, Ohio; West Hollywood, Calif.

A Milwaukee Hamburger Mary’s has become a popular destination for Chicagoans.