Roughly $10 billion dollars worth of potato chips are expected to be sold in the U.S. this year but you don’t have to look too hard in Chicago to find chips for free. That includes at Harry Caray’s bars and restaurants, which are well-known for the bowls of free house-made kettle chips placed in front of customers. In the audio clip below, CEO Grant Deporter tells WGN’s Steve Alexander over one million pounds of potato chips have been given away since the original restaurant on Kinzie opened in 1987. He also tells about the history of the free chips, and how their popularity created a new revenue stream for the chain.
1994 photo of Harry Caray enjoying beer and house-made potato chips. (Photo from Harry Caray Restaurant Group)
Every day is potato chip day at Harry Caray's. Beginning in 1987 with its landmark Chicago bar at Kinzie and Dearborn, the group has given away over one million pounds of potato chips.