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GRAND CROSSING — A Black woman-owned business with a twisted menu will soon be heading to the 75th Street Cloister with the help of city grants.
Twisted Eggroll, which serves French fries with cheesesteak, buffalo chicken and apple cheesecake, will open at 657 E. 75th St., said owner Nikkita Randle.
Randall was one of 60 recipients of community development grants. This is a program created under Lori his Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago Recovery Plan to fund businesses recovering from the pandemic.
Randle will use the $784,238 grant to build the first Twisted Eggroll site, she said. The total cost of the business “looks like over a million,” she says Randle. The restaurant has a large commercial kitchen “with plenty of walk-in freezer space” where you can make egg rolls in ready-to-sell or frozen to-go bags, Randle said. says.
Ultimately, Randle plans to rent out the commercial kitchen so other owners can start or expand their businesses on the South Side.
If all goes according to plan, residents of the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood will be able to buy eggrolls there “by the end of 2023,” Rundle said.
“This is something different, something new,” Randle said. “In our neighborhood, you can get the same fast food options right away, but I’d like to [Twisted Eggroll] It makes people deviate from common sense. I made a menu that you can say, “I tried it today.” All to whet your taste buds. “
credit: google mapRandle’s egg roll business didn’t start until January 2015, but she said she’s always loved to cook. When she was 5, she was “making pancakes from scratch on a springboard,” Randall says.
Eight years ago, Randall’s boyfriend convinced her to try the cheesesteak egg rolls during a date, Randall said. she said.
“I made egg rolls for lunch and they were delicious,” said Randall. “Then he asked me to make cheesecake egg rolls. He didn’t even like cheesecake.”
The cheesecake egg rolls were a hit, Randle said. At a get-together with her sorority sisters, she decided to make apple cheesecake egg rolls, Graham rolled her cracker crust, and stuffed her with cinnamon apple and lemon zest.
After the first taste, they described it as “heaven in the mouth,” Randle said.
Randall founded Twisted Eggroll in 2015. By 2016, she said, she decided to quit her full-time office job and prioritize her business.
The Twisted Eggroll was created in honor of his father, who passed away in 2010 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis known as ALS.
“I thought this was a way to honor him with things we love, like eating, helping people, and building wealth across generations,” Randall said. I put everything into.”
credit: Twisted Egg Roll/FacebookWhen Randall launched Twisted Eggroll, opening a “physical location” was always part of his dream.
First, Randle said he wanted a food truck, but decided it wasn’t financially viable after looking into Chicago laws.
The next best thing, Randall said, was the store. But before opening the store, he needed to establish a following rather than “blindly expecting people to come.”
Randle has started serving her egg rolls at pop-ups and corporate catering events, Randle said. The egg rolls that started it all – cheesesteak and apple her cheesecake – were still on the menu. She quickly added chicken fajitas, mushrooms, and Southwestern egg rolls to her “twisted” selection.
Rundle said the twisted egg roll was slowly gaining ground. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, Randle said he had to shut down his business for 18 months. She used the time to strategize for her future, she said.
“When we looked at trends and what was working, everyone was shopping at the grocery store or shopping online,” Randle said. We always had the vision of being on the shelves of a retailer, but moving to consumer packaged goods comes at a cost.”
Randle used funding from the Small Business Association to get the package she needed to rebrand her business and move to selling in stores, she said.
Customers can find Twisted Egg Rolls’ signature bright packaging at Foxtrot, Domm’s Kitchen & Market, and Green Grocer Chicago, says Randle. She said it was a favorite of
“My concept is that the egg roll is the main course and you can accompany it with other things if you want,” Randall said. I thought of what I wanted to eat.This is the meal.Please take the lead with this.”
credit: Twisted Egg Roll/FacebookThe Twisted Eggroll storefront on 75th Street allows neighbors to grab a freezer bag of eggrolls and order them piping hot for a quick dinner, says Randle. She also sells drinks and side dishes such as salads, French fries, and freshly baked macaroni and cheese.
Less than a 5 minute walk, neighbors can eat and drink at Park Manor 75, another Community Development Grant Winner business. Randall’s friends, owners Charlet Stanton and Jacare Thomas, received his $250,000 from the city to open a wine and charcuterie bar.
Companies will work together to “ensure that our community is rebuilt,” Randle said.
During Randall’s seven-year journey as a business owner, she said she has experienced “every emotion imaginable.” She said she was “challenging” more than anything else.
“When I did something as an entrepreneur, I wanted to bring it back to the South Side,” Randle said. “It’s what I know best, it’s dear to my heart. But my hopes for the future are [Twisted Eggroll] Nationwide. From there, I want to put out the sauce I made from scratch. We want him to be a name that everyone knows, one freezer at a time. “
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