Asian barbecue restaurant to open at old Rack House in Arlington Heights
A different kind of barbecue is coming to the shuttered Rack House Kitchen and Tavern on the south side of Arlington Heights.
Interior renovations are underway at 222 E. Algonquin Road for the proposed MAAX Asian BBQ & Hot Pots, which will serve all-you-can-eat tableside barbecue and bowls of broth with pork, beef, chicken, seafood and vegetables.
"I like cooking," said Gavin Mar, the owner/manager. "I like to prepare good food for people."
Mar and his business partners have experience in the restaurant industry, but it'll be their first Asian barbecue and hot pot concept.
He hopes to tap into the large Asian population that lives in and visits the area.
"I go to Mitsuwa a lot," Mar said of the large Japanese marketplace across the street on Tonne Drive. "I like the area. I like the atmosphere."
He's now working to transform the interior of the 10,000-square-foot restaurant space, left vacant since the closure of Rack House at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
Rack House opened in 2013, offering a menu of smokehouse items and drink list that included whiskeys, bourbons and craft beers. It replaced a Boston Blackie's that shut its doors in 2010.
Mar still has to complete renovations and hire staff, ahead of a planned opening in early 2024.