Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian steak house known for servers carrying slabs of meat on long skewers from table to table, announced last week that it had signed a lease to open a new restaurant in Orland Park.
The new location at 15407 S. LaGrange Road would be the chain’s fifth Chicagoland restaurant.
The 6,791-square-foot location is scheduled to open next year in the former TGI Friday in an outlot at Orland Park Place.
“Orland Park’s dynamic community and vibrant midwestern culture make it an ideal location for our next Chicagoland location,” Barry McGowan, chief executive officer of Fogo de Chão, said in a release. “After being a part of the local community for over 22 years, we’re excited to open our fifth and sixth Chicago area locations and look forward to introducing guests to the Culinary Art of Churrasco in both Orland Park and Schaumburg soon.”
Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said he was glad the steakhouse was coming to his village.
“We are happy to welcome Fogo de Chao to Orland Park,” he said. “They are a great addition to the over 150 restaurants already here giving residents and visitors another high-quality choice when the want to dine out.”
The Orland Park restaurant will feature an expansive dining room centered around an open churrasco grill, offering guests a 360-degree view of gaucho chefs butchering, hand carving, and grilling high-quality cuts of meat over an open flame, creating a craveable salty bark. The Market Table will anchor the restaurant and feature seasonal salads, fresh superfoods, cured meats, and antipasti.
Dry-aged meat lockers for in-house aging will display featured cuts such as a 32 oz. Long-Bone Tomahawk Ribeye, aged for a minimum of 42 days.
Founded in Brazil in 1979, Fogo de Chão opened its first U.S. restaurant in Dallas in 1997. Since then, it has expanded to more than 70 restaurants around the world.
This time last year, the restaurant chain said it planned to open 10 new locations in 2024, including three internationally and seven in the United States.
The upcoming Orland Park restaurant will join existing Chicagoland locations in Rosemont, Naperville, Oak Brook, Downtown Chicago and an upcoming location in Schaumburg.
It will be the second Brazilian steakhouse in Orland Park.
Texas de Brazil opened inside Orland Square Mall a few years ago. It offers the same kind of open churrasco experience as Fogo de Chao.