#Hashtag 95 Brings 'Unique Dining' Previously Missing To 95th Street

OAK LAWN, il — Already a successful Oak Lawn restaurateur with his downtown-style steakhouse Rockefeller’s Nick Perakis had the logo, brand and menu in mind for his dream restaurant – #Hashtag 95.

Nick and his wife, Jacki, started searching for a second recession-proof location. Wanting to leave Oak Lawn, they looked around in Hinsdale but there were not enough seats. Then the old Jason’s Deli space became available at 6260 W. 95th St.

“The patio is massive,” Perakis said. “We were trying to get out of Oak Lawn, but the minute she walked in I knew she was going to fall for it.”

Perakis grew up in Oak Lawn near 111th Street and Kenneth. His father, who immigrated from Greece when he was 17, worked for a commercial bakery that sold bread to hotels and country clubs. His father quit to start his own successful produce company with 17 trucks on the street, but after working 20-hour days and realizing he was missing out on his children’s milestones, he gave it up.

“I’m the youngest of five children,” Perakis said. “My father took a 9 to 5 job. He was at every soccer game and every event.”

Perakis graduated from Marist High School with the dream of someday owning his own restaurant.

“I’ve been in the restaurant industry since I was 14. I’ve done everything under the roof in a restaurant,” he said. “I had gotten to the finish line 16 or 17 times with investors but it kept falling apart. I didn’t care, it was my dream.”

Working at the old Louie’s Chophouse tucked into the corner of the Jewel-anchored shopping center at 103rd Street and Cicero Avenue, Perakis jumped at the chance to sign the lease when Louie decided to close the chop house and move in. Reopening in 2020 as Rockefellers, he took some bashing at first from former Louie’s customers.

Whipping Rockefellers into a fine dining steakhouse using the same purveyors as Gibson’s and Smith and Wollensky, Perakis revitalized the menu. Then in May, Rockefeller’s had a surprise visitor.

Perakis had just returned from delivering lamb chops to his daughter. Four men were sitting at the bar.

“My inherent instinct was to grab the bottle off the table,” Perakis said. “One of the guys was wearing a hat and sunglasses. I thought he was kind of weird.”

He brought the group their appetizers, soup, salads and entrees. He told them to enjoy themselves.

“Of course it was bothering me. I kept staring, he looks familiar,” Perakis recalled. “I did a full facial.”

Two or three minutes later, Perakis noticed that the mystery diner’s plate was empty. After realizing it was the famous chef and food critic. – Robert Irvine of the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” Perakis said he went back to his office where he had a near heart attack.

“He takes his hat and sunglasses off and told me he had two pieces of advice,” Perakis said. “The lamb chops and octopus had the best sauce, the appetizers were amazing, the soup out of this world and the steak perfectly cooked, ‘but your bread and French fries suck. He told me to hand cut the fries. ”

Irvine thought the bread was too soft and not suitable for dipping into oil. Perakis started hand cutting the fries, but kept the bread.

Perakis describes his new venture, #Hashtag 95, as an new age American diner that has everything on the menu except the kitchen sink.

“It's similar to the vibe, but that’s not doing it justice,” Perakis said. “It’s a melting pot of ideas.”

There is the Latin flare part of the menu, featuring classic street birria tacos and burrito divorciado among others. Hand-crafted sandwiches include such choices as Lobsta Roll, the Randy, Korean fried chicken, Sloppy Joseph and RIP Jason’s Deli. The menu also boasts an array of burgers, soups and salads.

What’s for Dinner? selections include Send Noods (noodles), shrimp and grits, braised lamb shank, and roast carrot and fennel.

#Hashtag 95 tops off the menu with robust breakfast selections, featuring fig and pig, meat sweats and build your own omelets, bennies and other classics, including an amazing array of potatoes.

“Of the breakfast appetizers, the signature one is the French toast stick with creme brule,” Perakis said. “We sprinkle our logo throughout the food.”

Over two dozen latte and espresso choices are available, topped off by signature cocktails and adult juice boxes.

Since opening in September, local residents have raved about #Hashtag 95 in online reviews, calling it a “true gem in Oak Lawn!”

“From the moment I walked in, I was blown away by the fantastic ambiance. The food tastes homemade in the best possible way. I have to highlight their cream of chicken soup - it's delicious! Portions are generous, so you definitely get your money's worth. The drinks are also top-notch, perfectly complementing the meal.”

“This is exactly what Oak Lawn has been missing, and I sincerely hope Hashtag95 is here for many successful years to come. Highly recommend!”

One of the few complaints was from a patron who didn’t like the double-entendre menu category names like “Let’s Get Toast’d” and “Friends With Benedicts.”

Perakis still makes time to spend with his three children, Poppy, 13, and Johnny Cas, 9, both of whom were born on Thanksgiving, and 5-year-old Nicholas Jax or Juicebox, who was born on Christmas. Each has a menu item named for them.

“I still coach my kids’ soccer,” Perakis said. “That’s one thing my dad instilled in me.”

#Hashtag 95, 6260 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Follow #Hashtag 95 on Facebook and Instagram.