Hoagie Hut (Chicago, Illinois)

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This is the site, at 2580 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL, of the Original "Salt and Pepper" diner founded in the 1960s by Gilbert "Jimmy" Jimenez, and his wife, Bertha, on property owned by the Jimenez Family from 1954 to the present. Mr. Jimenez, a lifelong restaurateur, renamed the hamburger joint from the Chili Pot Grill (which they also owned and operated from 1954), to the Salt and Pepper Diner. His reason for selection of the name is a secret only known to his family, but is one which reflects the couples' social conscience, rather than spice selections. He later leased the store and sold the business to a fry cook who wanted to run his own joint. Mr. Jimenez went on to open and run several more Chicago restaurants prior to his passing in 1994. His family still lives in the area. As it has been for more than 80 years as of 2006, the site is still a restaurant today, called the Hoagie Hut. Salt & Pepper has moved across the street.