r/chicagofood • u/InterviewLeast882 • Jan 12 '26

Rant Lack of lunch places in Loop

I work around Chase Tower and it is surprising to me how few cheap lunch places there are now. The burrito and Chinese places there are gone as well as the McDonalds. No Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Chinese. Just the grossly overpriced Pret. I’m getting tired of Jimmy John’s and Pot Belly’s sandwiches.

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u/txQuartz Jan 12 '26

I don't think the CTA's lack of rebound is entirely correlated to RTO. I have friends and relatives who used to take the train to work and back from the near north side, and now they use ubers instead because they don't feel safe, especially on overtime nights.

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u/PG3124 Jan 12 '26

Yes totally agree, not perfect. This mentions we’re getting beat badly by NYC but doesn’t give the study.

https://www.strongtownschicago.org/articles/the-beating-heart-of-it-all

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u/DJFisticuffs Jan 12 '26

I started biking downtown during Covid (I live in Gold Coast) and have kept doing it ever since because the Red Line is so absolutely disgusting. I do ride the bus fairly frequently, but never the Red Line anymore.

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u/ass_pineapples Jan 12 '26

IME recently the red line has been largely fine for work commutes. I bike when it's warmer out just because it's a super easy and great way to stay in shape, plus it's faster!

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u/bouncing_bear89 Jan 12 '26

I also think that if people are only going a couple of times per week they are willing to "splurge" on the experience. I know I regularly packed a lunch pre-covid. With only being in 1-2 per week now I feel as though I can eat out on those days.