Openings, Closings, Comings & Goings - 2019

Please post all applicable, basic news on this thread.

If you have something substantive to post about a place, please start a new thread (or search for an existing one and post there), as important details will almost certainly get lost and forgotten in this thread.

For 2018's Openings and Closings, please visit this thread:

Openings, Closings, Comings & Goings - 2018

Please, remember, that per our Posting Guidelines, posts pertaining to health code-related issues are not permitted here unless they include a link to a credible, third-party source.

Thanks,

=R=
for the Moderators

Important Reminder:

LTH,

Please, do not post about a closing without making absolutely certain that your information is correct and accurate in every way.

Please, do not post rumors of closings without linking to a credible, 3rd-party source that substantiates your report. (i.e. "Eater.com reports . . ." is ok)

It's far more important to be accurate than early with your information. The best course of action may be to make a phone call to the establishment before posting anything. But whatever you do, make sure you are 100% correct before posting about a closing on this thread or any other in these forums.

Thanks again,

=R=
for the Moderators

Driving past 2241 N Western Ave Chicago, IL 60647 today,
I noticed that what had been Honey 1 - then
became Whistle Pig (before the owner has been charged in the Murder of his co-owner-brother that I elected to not visit , on the grounds of my undying loyalties to Robert Adams Sr/Jr. ) and
subsequently morphed into "Windy City BBQ"is now
called something like -"Italian BBQ".

I truly find it disturbing that Robert Adams Jr.
had so many hassles from NIMBY's constant complaints of the "smell" of their wood-smoked BBQ- yet-
subsequently have not hassled the 3 BBQ wanna-be's
who have re-opened in the exact same location-
serving a similar (in name only) product-
but aren't the same race as Mr. Adams and his son.

Those “3 BBQ wanna-be's” did not stir up protests because, as with their food, there was no evidence of wood smoke in the air either.

Hombre de Acero wrote:Driving past 2241 N Western Ave Chicago, IL 60647 today,
I noticed that what had been Honey 1 - then
became Whistle Pig (before the owner has been charged in the Murder of his co-owner-brother that I elected to not visit , on the grounds of my undying loyalties to Robert Adams Sr/Jr. ) and
subsequently morphed into "Windy City BBQ"is now
called something like -"Italian BBQ".

I truly find it disturbing that Robert Adams Jr.
had so many hassles from NIMBY's constant complaints of the "smell" of their wood-smoked BBQ- yet-
subsequently have not hassled the 3 BBQ wanna-be's
who have re-opened in the exact same location-
serving a similar (in name only) product-
but aren't the same race as Mr. Adams and his son.

Race is 100% of the reason that the Western Avenue Honey 1 didn’t make it.

Most white northsiders won’t frequent a place that is perceived as African-American, such as the Harold’s Chicken Shack on Milwaukee Avenue, which is in the heart of the “hipster highway”.

I suspect the style of BBQ was a much bigger factor.

scottsol wrote:I suspect the style of BBQ was a much bigger factor.

That's one and the same thing.

ld111134 wrote:

Hombre de Acero wrote:Driving past 2241 N Western Ave Chicago, IL 60647 today,
I noticed that what had been Honey 1 - then
became Whistle Pig (before the owner has been charged in the Murder of his co-owner-brother that I elected to not visit , on the grounds of my undying loyalties to Robert Adams Sr/Jr. ) and
subsequently morphed into "Windy City BBQ"is now
called something like -"Italian BBQ".

I truly find it disturbing that Robert Adams Jr.
had so many hassles from NIMBY's constant complaints of the "smell" of their wood-smoked BBQ- yet-
subsequently have not hassled the 3 BBQ wanna-be's
who have re-opened in the exact same location-
serving a similar (in name only) product-
but aren't the same race as Mr. Adams and his son.

Race is 100% of the reason that the Western Avenue Honey 1 didn’t make it.

Most white northsiders won’t frequent a place that is perceived as African-American, such as the Harold’s Chicken Shack on Milwaukee Avenue, which is in the heart of the “hipster highway”.

The struggle is real. And it continues. When I lived in the city, I drove many miles in search of real Chicago barbecue. Places with names, 30 years on, that I cannot remember. Places that are probably long gone. Like one at about 64th and Western Avenue; one of those places which due to crime, was strictly a takeout place with the bullet-resistant lazy Susan window setup. Great smoky sweet goodness: the rib tips were sublime.

Or the exceedingly wonderful tips, ribs and hot links at Exsenator's in Markham. I have not been there in 20+ years. Again, it was a lazy Susan establishment.

The fact that a black man making fine barbecue can't make it in a decidedly younger, theoretically more tolerant, liberal white hipster neighborhood- on the north side of Chicago- in the 21st century- and be able to showcase his offerings in a safe, sit-down venue- shows that racism is not dead.

I see this with other ethnic cuisines but not as often- so many people I grew up with in my lily white northwest suburb- and many uneducated white people in general, still to this day refuse to try Korean food ("they cook dog meat!"), or Vietnamese ("they cook cat meat!"), or Indian ("they murder Christians!"). I don't know, maybe they they think rogan josh is made out of a guy named Josh, who knows?

We live in ignorant times.

Sorry for this post, but I had to get this off my chest. And now..... I'm jumping off the soapbox.

Back on subject....

Sugo Italian Street Food in the former Kabul House location:

Sugo Italian Street Food
4949 Oakton St,
Skokie, IL 60077

....is closed. For Rent sign in the windows.

Boltwood, on Facebook wrote:With heavy hearts we share the news that we have closed our doors for good. It was an honor and pleasure to bring our love, through high quality food and service, to the Evanston community.

Boltwood
804 Davis St
Evanston, Illinois 60201

Goddamn it. Not a huge surprise, but still: goddamn it.

Looking forward to whatever “beer ‘n burgers” or Asian fusion place replaces it, though!

cilantro wrote:Looking forward to whatever “beer ‘n burgers” or Asian fusion place replaces it, though!

Well, if it's Asian fusion, that would just be a return to the location's previous incarnation (which already lives on a few blocks west).

Pho Lily is closed near Argyle red line. Appears it may turn into a bahn mi focused restaurant

5100 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640

Not sure if this belongs here, but after a few years' absence, Algonquin's Roll N Donuts Cafe has reintroduced Vietnamese/Lao/Thai dining with limited hours.

https://www.facebook.com/RollNDonutsCafe/

Is this only restaurants? There is a construction fence around the former Toys'R'Us on the SE corner of Golf and Milwaukee and a sign saying "future Patel Brothers" (grocery), which will be nice. Is this a higher number than 3? I know of the (I presume) original on Devon and one on Golf in Rolling Meadows or Schaumburg.

diversedancer wrote:Is this only restaurants? There is a construction fence around the former Toys'R'Us on the SE corner of Golf and Milwaukee and a sign saying "future Patel Brothers" (grocery), which will be nice. Is this a higher number than 3? I know of the (I presume) original on Devon and one on Golf in Rolling Meadows or Schaumburg.

There is a Patel Brothers in Naperville as well.

Patel Brothers
1568 Ogden Ave
Naperville, IL 60540

I have encountered them in NJ and according to their website, they have a number of locations around the country.

The space formerly Baker Miller and formerly before that Kitchen Sink just off the Berwyn stop in Edgewater is now open as the Edgewater location Rewired Cafe.

I just stopped in on their first day and they've got good coffee, pastries, and a few light food items.

Rewired Cafe Edgewater
1107 W Berwyn Ave
Chicago, IL 60640

LTH,

We removed a series of posts because they contained information about -- and references to -- an unconfirmed closing. Please, please, please, as we mentioned clearly above, refrain from posting about closings unless you are 100% sure.

Please note that seeing a For Rent sign in a window does not count as confirmation of a closing. Many buildings have multiple tenants, so such a sign does not necessarily mean that the restaurant or tenant you think is closing is actually closing. It could easily be an apartment above the restaurant on the second floor that's vacant.

Not only are these posts irresponsible and potentially harmful to the owners and operators but because we don't edit posts, we remove every post in the series that references the erroneous information. So, when you do post such information, you're also wasting the time of every single person who replied to you. That's most uncool.

If there is even a shred of uncertainty about a closing, please don't post about it. It's just that simple.

Thanks,

=R=
for the Moderators

eeee!!! This is coming to 510 Higgins in Park Ridge!!
https://leilalove.com/
https://businessyab.com/explore/united_ ... serie.html

I'm not sure of the timeline since we hadn't been there in a while, but Thai Aroma at 417 W North Ave. has closed and been replaced with a Thai/sushi restaurant called Hom Mali.

https://www.hommalichicago.com

As per their Facebook page the NewCity Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya location will soft open on Sunday the 12th.

Da Rae Jung is closed, I posted more info in the main thread. -----> Link

Da Rae Jung
5220 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
773-907-9155 (gives fast busy)

Hannosuke, the tempura stand at the Arlington Heights Mitsuwa Marketplace food court has closed. There is a sign a new restaurant in the same stall by the name Tokyo Shokudou is opening soon.

polster wrote: Tokyo Shokudou is opening soon.

This could be interesting, though I had to google a few words. Shokudou is a cafeteria or casual restaurant. Teishoku implies set meal such as main, soup, rice, pickle. Chicagoland is getting a Japanese meat & 3 joint.

polster wrote:Hannosuke, the tempura stand at the Arlington Heights Mitsuwa Marketplace food court has closed. There is a sign a new restaurant in the same stall by the name Tokyo Shokudou is opening soon.

God dammit, I'm gutted. Now I won't be able to bribe an employee to give me the hat from their uniform.

Taco 'Bout It in Brookfield on Ogden recently changed names to Xelva Mayan Street Food. Same owners/menu and the food is really good. They are in the cursed location of Burgerwerks and Colony Burger (among others) - but I hope they can make it stick cuz its a great alternative to La Estancia in Riverside. I eat a lot of tacos/burritos.

Closing/Opening in one....

65 Poke @ 174 N Franklin is no more. They follow the fast exits of Firefin and whatever else tried to replace Perry's deli. Guess downtown isn't poke burrito friendly yet.

In it's place is 65 Express - an offshoot of the 65 chain. Soft opening today and I'll gladly take the new option for lunch. We used to hit the Madison location, but they seem to have gotten tired. Both entrees I had today were way better than the Madison locale.

Pho Lily has shuttered at 5100 N. Broadway Street, part of the cluster of Vietnamese restaurants in Uptown.

https://chicago.eater.com/2019/1/14/181 ... sures-2019

There is a sign up for Lola's Coney Dogs coming soon at 2858 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622, Chicago Ave, just west of California.

This was the old GoGo's location, which closed at the end of September 2017 due to a landlord dispute over new demands at lease renewal. I hope Maria and Jay, GoGo's owners are doing well. They were awesome people who worked extremely hard and put out above average offerings at very reasonable prices. Maria added salads with decent ingredients and made her own delicious veg burgers due to requests from the customers. She also made great desserts, like carrot cake, and rather than sell them, would give slices to regular customers for free.

I don't think there are any Coney dog specialists in Chicago and this seems like an unusual location for one.