Hecky Powell, Founder of Evanston’s Landmark Barbecue Restaurant, Has Died | Eater Chicago

"Opened in 1983, Hecky’s Barbecue became a suburban Evanston smoked-meat landmark, earning legions of fans for ribs, rib tips, chicken and more made from Creole recipes passed down by his mother and grandmother; Powell used an aquarium smoker that gave suburbanites a taste of genuine Chicago-style barbecue, and the restaurant’s barbecue sauce is now sold by the bottle. Powell, who opened Hecky’s 37 years ago and was in his 70s, has died from pneumonia suffered after exposure to COVID-19 and is remembered as a dedicated community leader and a pillar of Evanston’s business community and a role model for Black business owners. He wove African-American history into the menu — most clearly in a “Juneteenth Strawberry soda” — and was a longtime champion for local youth, founding the Forrest E. Powell Foundation in 1994 and more recently creating the Evanston Work Ethic Program. Hecky’s opened a second location on Halsted and Division in 2004 (the Lincoln Park outpost has been closed for years). During the pandemic the restaurant remained open, managed to keep its entire staff employed, and has been donating meals to hospital workers, shelters, and the Evanston Fire Department; a call to the restaurant on Friday went unanswered." - Naomi Waxman