Chicago's New Filipino-Hawaiian Street Food Restaurant Is So Popular That It Sells Out Of Food By Midday

Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant is always a gamble. One can only hope for a large turnout and a loyal customer base, and luckily, one Chicagoan's dreams became a reality. Chi-Town's residents have been zipping up their parkas and running to get a bite at Julius Tacadena's new grab-and-go restaurant, Kanin. 

The small space is less than 15 minutes south of Roger's Park, an artsy neighborhood offering diverse culinary excellence, and about a 10-minute drive north of Wrigley Field. Tacadena truly hit a home run when he brought a taste of his roots to The Windy City. The Filipino-Hawaiian-style eatery has been taking guests' tastebuds on a journey, and Tacadena might have bit off more than he could chew. In less than 20 days of opening (the grand opening was March 8, 2025), the line to try Kanin's food has been so long, you'd think it reached the Phillippines. The restaurant has been selling out by midday daily, and staff are trying their best to keep up. So much so that Tacadena hopped on the company's Instagram page to announce that the restaurant would close for an extra day. "Because of the fact that we continue to sell out, we made the tough decision to close on Sundays to allow us to train new staff as well as figure out some of our processes," he stated.

Sounds like an entrepreneurial dream!

Customers wait over an hour for Kanin's authentic cuisine. Typically, only legendary places that have been around for ages see lines like that, such as Canter's, an iconic 24-hour Los Angeles deli many celebrities order from. So, what's the catch? Why is Kanin's worth the wait day after day? One word: Musubi.

Many people rave over the traditional tastes of the typical Hawaiian dish. It's grilled spam on top of rice and wrapped in nori. The spam is usually glazed in soy sauce and brown sugar giving it that savory and sweet balance. The meal originated from Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii, where it was adapted to the Pacific Islands. You'll get a real taste of Hawaiian hidden gems with wildly unique food without traveling there. Hawaii is a cultural melting pot, and Kanin reflects that with adaptations of musubi that also have authentic Filipino flavors, such as longanisa and egg, tamarind shrimp, as well as tomato jam and egg. It only makes sense that this is a famous grab-and-go item, as Kanin translates to "rice" in Tagalog.

Other mouthwatering items available at Kanin include chimichurri pork and tocino chicken skewers, as well as ube banana pudding. The "bodega-style" establishment has packaged items from Filipino brands, too, like Kopiko candy sold at the cashier station.

A step into Kanin's gives Chicago another sense of community for the city's Filipino-Hawaiian population, and even if you don't identify, you'll be immersed in the culture. From the food displays to the artwork, Tacadena makes sure his guests sink their teeth into his heritage. Lined on the walls are Asian-inspired photos to give customers a sense of place. There are also portraits of Islanders to familiarize guests with the people, as well as creative works to get an overall vibe of the lifestyle. Kanin's Instagram followers who share the same background are obsessed. 

"This is exactly how we want people to feel when they walk in and eat our food — home," one person commented. Another thanked the restaurant for capturing their people as a community.

The restaurant also celebrates its staff, giving the eatery a family ambiance. Next to the cash register, you'll find polaroids of different employees on the wall. Also, they display a lot of their grab-and-go food in glass casings, focusing on Asian-style cuisine. Kanin's tagline, is "Everybody Eats," which, of course, rings true ... as long as you get there before they sell out!