Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Acadia Nears The "Homestretch"

We've been actively following the developments at Acadia, the new American Contemporary restaurant at 1639 S. Wabash. While many of us were skeptical about whether or not the restaurant would be opening in 2011, it looks like they're almost ready to accept their first patrons.

If you haven't checked out their blog yet, it's a fascinating look into the process a restaurant goes through prior to opening. And that's where we see that they're getting closer to opening:
the finishing touches are being made at acadia. we are finally down the
homestretch after a long journey that started back in july. it’s perplexing to think that we started with a raw unfinished space, and transformed iit into something as elegant and inviting as this. we will be opening within the next two weeks. this hardly seems possible. i’m finally standing inside my vision…
If you look at their website, they're accepting reservations for New Year's Eve. However, looking at Metromix Chicago's "The Countdown" page, it sounds like they're opening sometime around December 21st.

While it seems many in the neighborhood are eager for the restaurant to open, we're curious to see how it does. Yes, the interior looks beautiful and the entire project is clearly a labor of love

for Chef Ryan McCaskey, who appears to have a vision for every detail. However, the concept seems high-end, which haven't seemed to fare as well in the South Loop lately (see Tribute). Couple this with the fact that the location is on a relatively desolate stretch of South Wabash, we will be curious to see how Acadia fares. One bright spot for the location is that city plans to build a park just North of Acadia which should help attract foot traffic to the area (however, construction hasn't started and who knows when this will be completed).

Anyway, we look forward to our maiden voyage to Acadia. Whether or not it is the "signature" restaurant that helps put the South Loop on the culinary map of Chicago remains to be seen.

Hopefully it's a step in that direction at least. Judging by this scallop picture, it could be:
(Image from Acadia Blog)