Chicago Area Reastaurant News – June 2019
Posted by estiator at 11 June, at 06 : 30 AM Print
By PETER J. POULOPOULOS
Did you know?
Four fun facts about restaurants
- WHO INVENTED THE FIRST MODERN RESTAURANT? National Geographic tell us that, as legend has it, a soup salesman named Boulanger opened the first modern restaurant 250 years ago in Paris.
- WHICH WAS THE FIRST CHAIN RESTAURANT? According to Wikipedia: “Arguably, the first fastfood restaurants originated in the United States with White Castle in 1921.”
- WHICH WAS THE FIRST U.S. RESTAURANT? According to Steak Perfection: “The first restaurant in the United States was Delmonico’s, which was opened in 1827 by brothers Giovanni and Pietro Delmonico. More precisely, the brothers opened an ordinary cafe in 1827 and then, in 1830, opened the ‘restaurant francais’ in the building next to their cafe.”
- FROM CNN: “Five meters below the surface of the North Sea, near the southernmost tip of Norway, Europe’s first underwater restaurant is now complete. The 110-foot-long structure, an oblique concrete slab that looks like a sunken periscope, was submerged in July 2018 and welcomed the first guests on March 20.”
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(Note: Should you wish to comment on this column, have any questions, or would like to share news about your business, please call 773-743-2100, or email peterjp@realpoul.com).
OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS
HAPPY VILLAGE
The new owners of the Happy Village, a 55-year-old Ukrainian Village dive bar with a popular patio, want to give regulars one last summer fling before they remodel the landmarked space into a gastropub. They kept the bar the same until recently when it closed to make various changes. They’ll reopen with new cocktails and alterations to the patio.
OFFSHORE
Family-friendly tourist attraction Navy Pier is getting a grownup cocktail lounge with a massive rooftop space that management claims is the largest rooftop deck in the country. The 36,000-square-foot bar and lounge are located on the third floor of Navy Pier’s Festival Hall at 1000 E. Grand Avenue.
BARRELHOUSE FLAT
There is more change in Lincoln Park as fancy cocktail bar the Barrelhouse Flat has closed. Part of a wave of bars that showed Chicago was serious about upscale cocktails, Barrelhouse Flat opened in fall 2011 at 2624 N. Lincoln Avenue and became one of Eater Chicago’s most important cocktail bars.
ELLA’S GYROS
Run by the son and daughter-in-law of the former owners of Hellas Gyros, which closed in 2018, Ella’s serves the same menu as Hellas, including spanakopita, lamb stew, and gyros topped with tomatoes, onions, sport peppers, and tzatziki sauce. 5973 N. Clark Street.
THE BUDLONG
Nashville hot fried-chicken chain The Budlong, with locations in Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, and inside Revival Food Hall in the Loop, plans to open its first South Side location. Fried chicken will replace barbecue in Hyde Park as Budlong will take over the BBQ Supply Co. space at 1301 E. 53rd Street.
BONGO ROOM
One of the most popular brunch and breakfast spots in Chicago, Bongo Room, is down a location. The South Loop restaurant, at 1152 S. Wabash Avenue, is closed for good. The Andersonville and Wicker Park siblings remain in business.
FRANCOIS FRANKIE
The owners of popular downtown French restaurants Cochon Volant Brasserie and Taureaux Tavern are planning a new venture in the Loop with a revolving bar. Francois Frankie is slated to open this summer with another focus on French food. The 6,500-square-foot restaurant, a partnership between Well Done Hospitality and developer John Buck, is located at 222 W. Randolph Street.
MINTA RESTAURANT
Following a soft opening some time ago, Minta Restaurant and Social Lounge had its grand opening on the former site of E + O Food and Drink in Randhurst Village in Mount Prospect. New owner Andrian Gaina said that while several of the most popular menu items from E + O will remain, Minta will have a more specifically Eastern European influence. He believes this will be a hit in the area, especially among the Eastern European population.
SX SKY BAR
The Hotel Essex’s sixth-floor lounge and club SX Sky Bar has opened. High rollers, take note: The cocktail list includes a $669 drink called the Dominatrix. It’s made with Dom Perignon Brut, Clase Azul Reposado, orange liqueur, candied oranges, lime, and agave, served in a crystal vase. There are also call-outs to the drink in the decor.
NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY
Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Kimbal Musk (yes, Elon’s brother) opened a branch of his healthy chain eatery Next Door American Eatery in the Mellody Farm retail development. Musk is starting to make good on his goal of opening 20 Chicagoland Next Door restaurants and more than 2,000 across the country, serving familiar fare like burgers, bowls, salads, and sandwiches. 899 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills.
LOU MAINATI’S PIZZERIA
The Chicago-style deep-dish pizza chain’s new location on the north side of Wrigley building on Michigan Avenue will have 200 seats, including a private space for up to 40 people, and a design honoring the building’s history. The company plans to hire more than 150 employees. “It will feel like we uncovered and excavated an old, unutilized part of the building by preserving existing pieces of flooring, stone, and brick,” Lou Malnati’s owner Marc Malnati said in a statement. “Parts of it will feel reminiscent of an ancient cheese cave.”
THE DISTRICT BREW YARDS
This production brewery collective, beer hall with a pour your-own tap system and shop, opened inside a renovated warehouse in West Town. The facility features Burnt City Brewing, Around the Bend Beer and Bold Dog Beer, plus tap handles for guest brewers. The beer hall offers craft beer on 40 taps and a menu of smoked meats and sides.
COOPER’S HAWK WINERY & RESTAURANT
When Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group vacated its Gold Coast space in January, it left a vacancy in one of Chicago’s most prestigious neighborhoods and inside the former Esquire Theater, a building that dates back to 1938. Three months after the Del Frisco’s closure, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, the suburban chain founded in 2005 in Orland Park, announced plans to take over the posh space that housed Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House and its Esquire Champagne Room on the third floor.
NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY
Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Kimbal Musk (yes, Elon’s brother) opened a branch of his healthy chain eatery Next Door American Eatery in the Mellody Farm retail development. Musk is starting to make good on his goal of opening 20 Chicagoland Next Door restaurants and more than 2,000 across the country, serving familiar fare like burgers, bowls, salads, and sandwiches. 899 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills.
