The History of Italian Beef

The story of Chicago's Italian beef begins shortly after World War I with a man named Anthony Ferreri, a Chicago street peddler who sold cold sandwiches and bakery items from the back of his truck. Operating like a modern-day food truck, Anthony would drive around the city making deliveries to construction sites, hospitals, and offices throughout the bustling metropolis.

One day, Anthony attended a local Italian-American "peanut wedding"—so named because these Depression-era celebrations served inexpensive foods like peanuts to keep costs down. Italian immigrants didn't have much money in those days, so wedding receptions were held in homes and church basements where families made the most of what they had.

At this particular wedding, the family was serving beef roast sandwiches, slicing the meat fairly thick by hand. Anthony, always a sandwich guy at heart, had a breakthrough idea: What if he sliced that beef roast much thinner on his deli slicer and cooked it in its own juices with secret spices? He could feed twice as many people with a first-rate sandwich. Anthony coined his innovation the "Beef Sandwich" and began selling it alongside his other deliveries and at peanut weddings he catered across the city.

Anthony would later marry and have two children: a son named Albert (Al) and a daughter namedFrances. They all grew up on Chicago's Near West Side, deeply involved in the family food business. After Al got out of jail, he pitched an idea to his outfit friends: open a bookie joint and use his father's beef sandwich concept as the front business.

In 1938, Al Ferreri, his sister Frances, and brother-in-law Chris Pacelli Sr. opened a little family beef stand in the Little Italy neighborhood at Harrison and Lafflin Streets. They called it Al's Bar B-Q because the Italian beef simmered outside and the Italian sausage grilled over flaming charcoal.

At first, the stand only opened in the evenings since Chris and Al worked other jobs during the day. But as the legend of Al's started to grow, the sandwich business boomed. The family was able to buy out the bookies and run it as a legitimate business. Many of the gamblers and bookies followed Al's lead and opened beef stands of their own throughout Chicago—which is why you'll find so many beef stands with someone's first name on them.

Since Anthony, Al, Frances, and Chris were all Italian, this is where the term "Italian Beef" came from: beef sandwiches made by Italians, aka "Italian Beef."

The Italian beef sandwich grew in popularity throughout the 1950s, at a time before deep-dish pizza and gourmet hamburgers were widely popular. Beef stands began popping up all over Chicago, each with its own family recipe and loyal following. The sandwich became a staple of Chicago's working-class neighborhoods, particularly in areas with large Italian-American populations.

When Urban Renewal transformed the Little Italy neighborhood in the early 1960s, Al's original location was bought out. The family reopened at 1079 West Taylor Street, where Frances and Chris Pacelli Sr.'s sons—Terry, Chuck, and Chris Jr.—carried on the family tradition.

In 1980, Chicago Magazine named Al's the #1 Italian Beef Sandwich in Chicago, and the business was forever changed. They officially became "Al's #1 Italian Beef," cementing their place in Chicago food history. The sandwich that started as a Depression-era innovation had become one of Chicago's most beloved culinary icons.

Today, Italian beef is recognized as one of Chicago's signature foods, right alongside deep-dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs. The sandwich has been featured on countless food shows, from the Food Network to Netflix's "Somebody Feed Phil." People travel from around the world to experience authentic Chicago Italian beef.

What started as Anthony Ferreri's clever way to stretch a beef roast at Depression-era weddings has become a multi-million dollar industry with hundreds of beef stands throughout Chicagoland and beyond. From California to Florida, from Arizona to Texas, Chicago expats and Italian beef enthusiasts have brought this iconic sandwich to cities across America.

The sandwich remains true to its roots: thinly sliced, slow-roasted beef cooked in its own juices with Italian spices, piled high on a fresh Italian roll, and topped with sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera. Whether you order it "dry," "wet," or "dipped," the Italian beef sandwich represents Chicago's working-class heritage, immigrant ingenuity, and the city's enduring love affair with great food.