Claudio Velez, often referred to as the Tamale Guy, Authentic Tamale Guy or the Tamale Man, is a cook and mobile caterer of

tamales A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Originally from Acapulco, Mexico, Velez has a longstanding reputation in the city's North Side

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

as a food provider outside and inside of clubs, bars, and other establishments open late at night. He has been called "Santa Claus for the drunk and hungry" and sells up to 250 pork, chicken or cheese tamales a night. A

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

through a Twitter account was developed by a customer intended to help others track his location across the city.

2020 events

In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, with bars closed to the public, Velez began testing home delivery, and by April 2020, neighborhood groups were placing large orders for tamales. By August 13 Velez had opened a restaurant, which due to popularity had customers waiting in a line 10 blocks long on opening day. On August 29, media reported that Velez had contracted COVID-19 and was on a ventilator. On October 1, he had recovered and a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...

fundraiser for his medical bills had raised tens of thousands of dollars. While Velez was hospitalized a

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

brewery named a limited edition beer after him. Velez later closed his restaurant and moved into shared spaces, first at Lone Wolf in the

West Loop The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of t ...

, and then in Bangers & Lace, and in 2022 again to a new Logan Square bar called Quality Time.

References

External links

Official site
{{Restaurants in Chicago Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Acapulco People from Chicago