Edgewater is about to get an extra helping of down home southern cooking with Pearl’s Southern Comfort, a southern-cuisine and barbecue eatery that will soon be joining the neighborhood. The restaurant is currently taking shape at its 5352 N Broadway location, a building that has been vacant for more than ten years.

Pearl’s anticipated April 1 soft opening has been a long time coming for owner Danny Beck and his partner Rich Hagerty, who have spent two years planning for the restaurant and had originally hoped to have it open and running in the spring of 2014. Beck has attributed the later than expected opening to securing city permits and construction delays. Realizing the intended vision for the restaurant has involved major renovations, including digging a basement and tearing everything out of the nearly 100-year-old building.

Beck, a graduate of Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, was the executive chef at the House of Blues before buying Toons Bar & Grill on Southport Avenue sixteen years ago. He and Hagerty began working with the Edgewater community to rehab the future home of Pearl’s back in 2013. “We received tremendous support from Alderman Osterman and his staff. They have helped us in countless ways and truly want Pearl’s to be successful,” said Hagerty.

When asked what led them to Edgewater, Hagerty said he is a longtime admirer of the sense of community pride that pervades the neighborhood. “I do not live in Edgewater but a friend of mine does and every year my wife and I bring our kids to her block to go trick or treating. All of the neighbors are really involved and are so nice.”

The interior of Pearl’s Southern Comfort will feature a rustic chic design with exposed brick, wooden floors, chandeliers, and a handcrafted bar. There will also be a second bar on the restaurant’s rooftop patio. The main dining room will be able to accommodate about 80 and the rooftop patio is set to feature seating that overlooks North Broadway.

Pearl’s menu will highlight dishes with a Tex-Mex and Louisiana flair. Barbecue will also be a part of the menu and a smoker capable of smoking 250 pounds of meat at once will be installed in the kitchen. The bar when will feature a cocktail program and sixteen draft beers. “In the end we are really striving to be that neighborhood place you can stop in for a quick drink or a really good meal,” said Hagerty.