Nando's in Oak Brook raises $8,500 for school

Nando's Peri-Peri, the South African-Portuguese restaurant known for its spicy flame-grilled chicken, raised about $8,500 for the Hinsdale Central High School student programs. The money was raised during its grand opening on Nov. 20 at its newest restaurant, 523 Oakbrook Center in Oakbrook Center Mall.

Nationwide, Nando's has donated more than $200,000 to local nonprofit organizations through its opening-day sales.

It is the tenth Nando's location to open in the Chicago and suburban market. A recently opened restaurant includes one in Westfield Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Another will open in Hyde Park in mid-January.

"As newcomers to the Oak Brook area, we wanted to be good neighbors and help raise funds for Hinsdale Central High School," said Burton Heiss, CEO of Nando's Peri-Peri USA. "We can't wait to fire up our grills at our tenth Chicagoland location."

Nando's, which operates restaurants in 23 nations from Australia to Zimbabwe, first moved to the United States in 2008. It set up shop in Washington, D.C., and, since then, has opened three dozen restaurants in and around Chicago and the nation's capital.