Step inside Starship Subs on Madison Street in Forest Park and it’s immediately clear why this sandwich shop has lasted this long. It almost feels like walking into a restaurant in an episode of Stranger Things in the best way possible. The retro vibes are on, the menu board is packed, the soup coolers are full, and you can spot regulars who barely need to glance at the offerings before ordering.
Even though the space’s Star Trek artwork and the flying saucer in its logo nod to its sci-fi name, the focus is on generous sandwiches and soups that keep people coming back. Starship has been serving the Chicago area since 1977, growing from a tiny sub shop into a place people rely on for hearty, straightforward food.
The soups rotate through a wide selection, with many options available at any given time. The sandwiches are stacked with meat, cheese, and crisp toppings, built for people who show up hungry.
Located at 7618 Madison Street in the center of Forest Park’s commercial district, Starship operates as both a casual dine-in restaurant and a takeout spot, and its catering menu serves offices and large gatherings throughout the near west suburbs with flavors that feel just a little out of this world.
Launching the Spaceship
The story starts in 1977, when friends Paul McKenna and Henry Laskowski decided they loved sandwiches enough to open a shop, even though neither had restaurant experience. They opened as Starship Subs that year, starting small and figuring things out as they went.
From the beginning, they leaned into a space theme, and the name Starship stuck along with the playful sci‑fi touches that still dot the interior today. As their own history tells it, they “big banged in 1977 as a tiny sub shop selling 5 different subs, homemade fries and fountain pop.”
When a cold stretch made it clear that customers wanted more than cold sandwiches, they began making soup and evolved into Starship Restaurant. The menu expanded to 11 cold subs, beef, sausage, chicken, and what is now well over 120 types of homemade soup, setting the stage for the soup-and-sub focus that defines the place today.
That commitment to hearty portions and consistency has held steady even as the menu and the business around it have evolved, eventually allowing BYOB for restaurant diners and expanding into Starship Restaurant Catering & Events.
The Soup Obsession That Took Over the Neighborhood
Those early, bitterly cold opening days pushed them to add chili and French onion soup. What started as a practical decision grew into something bigger.
Today Starship is known for an almost obsessive soup program. Some of the varieties are familiar staples, such as French onion or split pea. Others come from original recipes with a sense of fun, like pepperoni pizza soup or Oktoberfest soup.
Regulars don’t just grab a bowl for lunch. Frozen quarts go home with them and slide into freezers for weeknight dinners. In that way, Starship becomes part of people’s routines long after they leave Madison Street, because there’s something reliable waiting in the freezer when the week gets hectic.
Sandwiches That Are Out of This World
Devotees are just as passionate about Starship Restaurant’s sandwiches as they are about the soups. One of their most beloved creations, the eponymous Starship, is a sesame-seed bun loaded with ham, turkey, bologna, two kinds of cheese, egg, yellow sauce, and fresh veggies.
The La Nasa is their Italian sub, known to regulars as a go‑to order. It layers Italian meats, cheese, and classic fixings into a substantial, flavor-packed sandwich. The Crazy Club (which includes hickory-smoked bacon and Wisconsin cheddar) and the Beefeater are among the other sandwiches that have become part of the menu’s core identity over the years.
The restaurant offers hot sandwiches, salads, entrées, and specials that give the menu more depth than you might expect from a corner shop. The portions are generous, and the flavors are consistent.
When Hollywood Came Knocking
In the mid‑1990s, this small Forest Park shop found itself in the middle of a trademark dispute.
The original corporate name was Starship Enterprises Inc., which caught the attention of Paramount Pictures, owner of the Star Trek and Starship Enterprise trademarks. The studio filed a lawsuit alleging that the company name infringed on their marks, even though Starship had been using it since 1977.
Owner Paul McKenna noted at the time that when they chose the name, Star Trek was “just a canceled TV show” and they simply thought Starship was a good name. The shop wasn’t a themed tribute, and the focus was on good food.
The lawsuit sought to stop the use of Starship Enterprises Inc. and Starship Enterprises Inc. II for their Forest Park and Roselle locations and requested that business cards, invoices, and stationery bearing the name be destroyed, along with payment of legal fees. McKenna pointed out that the requested $3,000 was about a week’s worth of receipts for them and likely just a corporate lunch for Paramount.
In the end, the partners agreed that a corporate name change would be preferable to a drawn‑out battle. The restaurant name that customers knew—Starship—remained. The sandwiches stayed, the sci‑fi touches stayed, and the legal episode became a piece of local lore.
From Sub Shop to Suburban Institution
Over time, the business has grown beyond its tiny sub shop origins. The menu expanded and today Starship Restaurant Catering & Events reflects all those layers in its full name.
Catering is now a major part of what they do. Their catering menu offers sandwich platters, soups by the gallon or quart, and themed spreads that can feed a crowd, whether it’s an office lunch or a family gathering.
The business’s growth is also woven into Forest Park’s broader evolution. As Madison Street has shifted to a dining destination, Starship has remained locally owned and focused on serving its community. Talk to locals and you’ll quickly find people who’ve been coming here for years, sometimes across multiple generations of the same family. People who were brought here as kids are now picking up soup and sandwiches for their own children or grandchildren.
Your First Visit Game Plan
Starship sits right in the Madison Street corridor, an easy stop on a day spent around Forest Park or neighboring Oak Park. It’s accessible by car, close to public transit, and mere steps from other shops and bars.
If it’s your first visit, start with a classic like the Starship or the Lanasa. Be sure to add a soup that sounds familiar and another that pushes you a little outside your comfort zone. And if you’ve got freezer space, grab a quart or two to take home.
Expect counter service and casual seating. There are no frills or manufactured nostalgia here. It’s simply a long‑running neighborhood spot that has stayed true to itself.
Make It a Forest Park Afternoon
One of the best ways to experience Starship is to build it into a Madison Street wander. Grab lunch, walk the strip, pop into a shop, and maybe grab a seat at a patio later in the day if the weather is nice. Forest Park’s energy is compact and easy—you can cover a lot within a few blocks.
If you’re the nostalgic type, ask around. Someone will have a memory about this place, whether it’s their first visit or their favorite soup. Because that’s what makes Starship matter.
It’s not just that they’ve been serving sandwiches and soups since the 1970s. It’s that they’ve quietly fed near west suburban life for decades, one stacked sub and one ladle of soup at a time.
In a world of restaurant trends that come and go, that kind of steady orbit is rare.
And Starship is still flying.