Side Lot Brewery

What Side Lot Brewery does

The Side Lot is a privately held, single-location neighborhood restaurant operating at 110 Slocum Lake Road in Wauconda, Illinois, founded in 2015. Its core offering is American casual fare built around the "World Famous Smashburger" as its signature item, supported by a full food menu, a craft beer list, catering services, and gift cards. The business serves local community members and neighborhood residents seeking an approachable, community-oriented dining experience.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer model centered on physical dine-in service, with digital ordering layered on top through a Toast-powered online pickup system and a DoorDash delivery partnership for off-premise sales. A Side Lot Rewards loyalty program is used to drive repeat visits. Marketing is executed primarily through organic social channels (Facebook and Instagram) and a content-light website maintained by Tough Crowd Media Group. No technology platform, proprietary software, or third-party integrations beyond Toast and DoorDash are evident.

The Side Lot is assumed private with no disclosed funding, investors, parent company, subsidiaries, leadership team, or revenue figures. No data on headcount, financials, expansion plans, or M&A activity is available. The entity operates under the legal name "The Side Lot" in Illinois, USA, and presents a single-country, single-market footprint with no global footprint claims.

Name

Side Lot Brewery

Legal name

The Side Lot

Website

https://sidelotbrewing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Side Lot is a privately held, single-location neighborhood restaurant in Wauconda, Illinois, founded in 2015, serving local residents casual American fare built around its signature World Famous Smashburger, with dine-in, online pickup via Toast, DoorDash delivery, catering, and a loyalty program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood & Sports Bars (THAFAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA)

Keywords

• Casual dining restaurant
• Craft beer selection
• Smashburger restaurant
• Neighborhood restaurant
• Food and beverage service

Headquarters

HQ city

Wauconda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from food and beverage sales at the restaurant location, including dine-in, takeout, catering services, and third-party delivery orders through DoorDash.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Side Lot is a full-service neighborhood restaurant in Wauconda, Illinois, selling American casual fare centered on its signature World Famous Smashburger, complemented by a full food menu, a craft beer list, and catering services for events and groups. The restaurant also sells gift cards (via Toast) and operates a customer loyalty program called Side Lot Rewards.

Product overview

Side Lot Brewery is a neighborhood restaurant established in 2015 offering a unified food service experience. The core offering centers on the World Famous Smashburger as their signature product, supported by a full food menu, craft beer selection, and catering services. Additional offerings include a loyalty program (Side Lot Rewards), gift cards, and online ordering through integrated platforms (Toast and DoorDash). The restaurant positions itself as a community-focused, approachable dining destination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Side Lot Full Menu

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DoorDashminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership allowing customers to order The Side Lot for delivery through the DoorDash platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Buffalo Wild Wings: National sports-bar chain combining bar service with a casual food menu. Comparable to The Side Lot as a neighborhood gathering place pairing bar and food, though at chain scale.
• Yard House: National casual-dining chain centered on a large draft beer selection and American fare. Comparable to The Side Lot on the beer-list-as-differentiator casual-dining model.
• Red Robin: Casual-dining chain with a burger-centric menu and full bar. Comparable to The Side Lot as a neighborhood casual restaurant where burgers anchor the menu.
• Shake Shack: National premium-burger chain with a cult signature burger and modern digital ordering. Comparable to The Side Lot on burger-led brand identity, though operating at vastly greater scale.
• Portillo's: Iconic Chicago-area casual restaurant chain known for a signature burger/hot dog lineup. Comparable as a Chicago-region neighborhood casual-dining brand with a famous signature item, though at much larger scale.
• Twin Peaks Restaurant: Sports-bar chain offering casual American food alongside a large bar program. Comparable to The Side Lot as a neighborhood bar-and-grill concept.
• HopCat: Multi-unit casual dining chain built around craft beer and a broad American menu. Comparable to The Side Lot on the craft-beer-anchored neighborhood-dining concept, but at chain scale.

Direct peers

• Granite City Food & Brewery: Brewery-and-restaurant chain pairing house-brewed beer with a full casual menu. Closely matches The Side Lot's 'brewery + neighborhood restaurant' positioning and beer-led differentiation.
• DMK Burger Bar: Chicago-area burger restaurant with a chef-driven menu and full bar. Comparable to The Side Lot as a neighborhood casual-dining concept where a signature burger anchors the offering alongside craft beer.
• Kuma's Corner: Chicago-based burger-focused restaurant known for a signature burger lineup paired with a strong craft beer program. Directly comparable to The Side Lot on burger-centric casual dining plus craft beer in the Chicago market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TheSideLot
• Instagraminstagram.com/sidelotwauconda
• Xx.com/sidelotbrewery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Side Lot Brewery