The casual chain, Small Cheval—an offshoot of Au Cheval, operated by Hogsalt—serves up burgers, fried chicken and beer at multiple successful locations in Chicago neighborhoods like Wrigleyville, Fulton Market, Riverside, Hyde Park, and Old Town. And now you can add Logan Square to the list: The burger joint has taken over the former space of sandwich-and-shake classic The Freeze.
RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Logan Square for authentic tacos, greasy burgers and more
Big upgrades to the original business (which closed at 2815 W. Armitage Ave. back in 2023) include bathrooms, an expanded kitchen, a patio with benches and tables, a new walk-up window, and the ability to be open year-round. However, the Cheval team will keep relics of the ice-cream parlor intact, including that vintage The Freeze sign and the old soft-serve machines.
The previous owner, former firefighter-slash butcher Tony Zarcone, a bought The Freeze (previously known as Tastee-Freez) in the late 1980s, and kept it going for 30 years. “I was meant to keep serving ice cream to my community. My last name even ends in the word,” Zarcone said to Block Club Chicago in 2023. “We’re lucky to have had this for the time we had.”
Unique to this location, Small Cheval will use those soft-serve machines to churn up classic The Freeze favorites that were well-loved by patrons of the old ice cream shop. Expect the same great burgers, fried chicken, beers and cocktails (espresso martinis, pink vodka lemonades) that you can get at the other Small Cheval establishments. But here, you can also cap off your meal with cherry, chocolate or goldbrick hand-dipped ice cream cones; handspun milkshakes; ice cream floats; or boozy milkshakes spiked with your choice of whisky, tequila or vodka.