Nearly a year after Tony and Taneka Anderson opened Austin’s only fine dining restaurant, TNT Rooftop Restaurant, they have passed $1 million in sales.
At the end of October, the Andersons rebranded as Austin Square, which encompasses the three businesses in their building at 5405 W. Madison St.: TNT Rooftop, the event space next door, and a boutique Dressed 1213. Now, they’re trying to grow their offerings in Austin, where Tony grew up.
Tony said he’s trying to buy the building just west of TNT Rooftop and Veterans Peace Garden and would likely lease the space to other businesses.
“We’re trying to make it a new Black Wall Street,” he said, though he added that he would buy property elsewhere, if the owner of the neighboring building finds someone else.
“As long as I can give back to Austin, it works for me,” Tony said.
While the couple’s initial hopes for Austin Square was for multiple businesses in the same stretch to garner support for each other, once they got the idea for TNT Rooftop, “then came that notion of ‘we’re going to make this help as many people as we can,’” Tony said. “We saw that the impact was going to go further than initially what we set out to do.”
TNT Rooftop employs about 20 people, most of whom are from the West Side. Chef Tracii Smith, for example, lives in Austin.
“We’re aiming to give urban people an idea of what they can do,” Tony said, “inspire them and show them it’s people like you doing this.”
The Andersons also give back to the community through donations.
This month, the restaurant is holding a turkey drive. Locals can come pick up one of about 150 free turkeys at TNT Rooftop Restaurant on Nov. 25 between 12 and 4 p.m. The restaurant bought most of the turkeys to give away, but those who donate a turkey ahead of the event will get a free appetizer at TNT Rooftop.
And in December, TNT will host a toy drive, where people can donate and pick up toys for the holidays at the restaurant.
Fruits of the labor
The path to establishing Austin Square has been a meticulously planned, years-long journey. The main goal for the Andersons, self-described serial entrepreneurs, was to offer Austin access to businesses that were unique to the area.
“I just went to thinking about what the neighborhood didn’t have,” said Tony, who works as a developer, semi-truck driver, and general contractor. Taneka has worked as an accountant, realtor, and insurance sales. The couple also often acts as the restaurant’s host or serves food and drinks themselves, as they were when I visited.
Being a Black-owned, built and operated business is a point of pride for the Andersons, who bought the building that houses their three businesses in 2019.
Tony said they worked with Deon Lucas of architecture and engineering design firm Beehyyve and, after a year-and-a-half in the permitting process, started construction.
The building’s first business, Dressed 1213, opened at the end of 2022. Though Taneka previously had an online store where she sold clothes and a mobile boutique van, which is often present at community events, it was her dream to have a brick-and-mortar store.
In January 2023, the couple opened an event space next door. Tony said the space is versatile, hosting a few birthday parties, celebrations and funeral repasses a month. TNT Rooftop’s restaurant and rooftop patio can also be rented out.
“A lot of you being able to earn comes down to how much you can offer people,” Tony said. “We wanted to put ourselves in a space where we can fit into as many categories as we could.”
And in December 2023, the building’s third business, TNT Rooftop, launched. Tony said the inspiration for the restaurant came from Miami, where he and Taneka lived before moving back to Chicago.
“We need to bring some of Miami back to Austin,” he said.
On the restaurant’s rooftop, neon lights outline the walls and bar, and a projected TNT spins on the wall downstairs. There’s even a sign on the restaurant’s rooftop that says, “Welcome to Chiami.”
TNT’s rooftop is the second largest in Chicago — right behind Offshore Rooftop at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, which as of 2019, is the largest rooftop bar in the United States — and the only one on the city’s West Side. It holds 174 people to the rest of the restaurant’s 78.
The rooftop has its own grill. Until recently when the patio closed for winter, TNT held hibachi dinners on Wednesdays. While the Andersons plan to get an insulated tent to place around the rooftop, Wednesdays have become karaoke night.
TNT hosts a special activity almost every day of the week. On Sunday, brunch is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and one of the most popular menu items is shrimp and grits. Monday is game night, and Tuesday the restaurant is closed. In addition to the recently introduced karaoke night, on Wednesdays, Austin residents get 15% off their bills. Thursday is ladies’ night, including a $7 lemon drop deal and $30 buckets. As of this month, Friday is seafood night. The seafood platter includes charbroiled oysters, tiger shrimp, lobster tail, scallops, and crab fried rice.
The Andersons recently extended TNT’s hours to include lunch on Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when most offerings are under $20.
The most popular offerings include fried TNT wings, tossed in house-made sweet and spicy sauce, and the build-your-own pasta. The tasting sampler is also successful, including salmon over garlic mashed potatoes, two lamb chops with asparagus, and grilled chicken breast with fried rice.
While the Austin Weekly News previously reported that residents were concerned that the restaurant would bring noise and crowds — and neglected to interview Tony, half of the business venture — the Andersons say the community has been nothing but welcoming to them over the last year.
“The community loves it,” Tony said. “Everybody loves food.” He added that the restaurant has seen visitors from the West Side, neighboring Oak Park, and the rest of Chicago, including those from Generation Z to those in their 70s and 80s.
“You find out that you’re really doing right,” Tony said, “when you get the elders to listen.” He added that he’s heard feedback from older customers like, “this is what we’ve needed. This is what we’ve been missing.”
TNT Rooftop hasn’t, however, seen presence from local officials outside of Ald. Chris Taliaferro, though they invited them to the restaurant’s grand opening and are hoping they visit soon.
TNT’s success has been such that the Andersons hope to take TNT Rooftop to Miami, Atlanta, and Houston. Tony is confident in the expansion, per projections on how the restaurant is faring.
This is what “thought and effort and hard work and dedication provides,” he said. “You have to be able to understand if what you want to do and what you’re doing is needed, and what kind of effect it’s going to have.”
TNT Rooftop is at 5405 W. Madison St. Sunday through Thursday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. It’s closed on Tuesdays and open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Dressed 1213 is open at 5411 W. Madison St. Wednesday through Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
To book the special event space, call (312) 899-6527 or the restaurant’s number, (773) 417-4529.