Like time, the history trend marches on. Mainstay Hospitality, the company that owns Chicago Firehouse and Wabash Tap, plans to open the “18th-century tavernesque” City Tavern (1416 S. Michigan Ave.; no phone yet) in early May in the space formerly occupied by Grace O’Malley’s. Kendal Duque, the chef at Chicago Firehouse and the opening chef at Sepia, will create the menu.
To create the old feel, the owners united the bar and dining areas and introduced warm woods and rich paint tones of blue and slate gray, evoking the Revolution-era inns of New England. (Chicago’s earliest taverns opened after the 18th century, in 1829 or 1830, near the spot where the North and South Branches of the Chicago River meet.) A coal fireplace warms the room literally in winter and figuratively in summer.
Duque says his menu will offer about a dozen entrées, a dozen appetizers, a few sides and sandwiches, and a selection of artisanal cheeses, cured meats, and house-made pâtés and terrines. “It will be a small menu focused on the ingredients, and they are going to be simple but elegant presentations,” he says. For example, instead of preparing walleye with butter sauce, he’ll use a vinaigrette and nuts, and maybe a side of artichoke and chanterelles. And don’t be surprised if Duque pairs some meat dishes with offal. Desserts will follow the same theme, as with a pistachio crème brûlée with rhubarb preserves.
Sounds great on paper, but pretty ambitious. We went to Sepia late in the year last year and were very impressed with this restaurant (even though it was in the West Loop). Hopefully Chef Duque has some more magic up his sleeves for City Tavern.
While this is all good and well, we also heard a rumor that they had bought the space to the South where Britten had a showroom. The rumor said the spaces were going to be joined. We're not sure about the validity of this, but will keep our eyes open.
Regardless, good to hear that Mainstay is coming back with a strong concept. We wish them the best of luck and can't wait to try it out.
(Hat tip: KG, SMR, AK!)
So two new 'hearken back to the old days' taverns serving small plate meets, cheeses and pates, one at 1400 S. Michigan and one at 1416 S. Michigan, both opening in early May? These are some folks not afraid of some competition. Or else they just know how much Chicagoans can imbibe. (Both sound good to me, by the way.)
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm. An old school pub offering food from the chefs @ Chicago Firehouse. This sounds a bit like . . . Grace O'Malleys! So, this place closed down for well over a year, only to reopen as pretty much the same concept with a different name. How ground-breaking. This is as exciting as an Edwardos "re-conceptualizing" into a Ginos East.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me! Can't wait to check it out.
ReplyDeleteEveryone was surprised when Grace O'Malleys shut down, so it should be no surprise that the concept doesn't change much. The only things wrong were the food consistency and the layout (back dungeon dining room). Sounds like both have been addressed. Welcome back, looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteonce again...more brilliant banter from another "anon"
ReplyDeleteDr. Jen...ITS SPELLED MEATS, NOT MEETS.
Note that if you went to Sepia late last year, that was long after Duque left the restaurant; Andrew Zimmerman has been the chef since early 2009.
ReplyDeleteTo wit, it would not be such a huge surprise that they were sticking with the same concept had we not been told for OVER A YEAR that a "new concept" was opening in place of the old. Further, anon/steven has been spouting for months that an Italian restaurant was opening up in that spot. Hence, something about all of this is fishy.
ReplyDeleteAnon--
ReplyDeleteIt WAS the original concept, plan B was to restore it to the original pub. Plan B came through after they decided that a pub could exist with good food items on the menu.
I clearly stated this on this blog already...go back and look.
ugh, these anons are just so simple
I could care less if it is similar to what is opening in 1400 S. Michigan. I love that our neighborhood will have more places to go!
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with anon 10:28. Welcome (back?) to the neighborhood. I'm looking forward to stopping by both places.
ReplyDeleteSteven...they are just messing with you. C'mon, you're better than that!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm messing with you.
great to have a theme that harks to the 1800's Chicago Levee District... this is what the South Loop needs!
ReplyDeletedumb post russ...
ReplyDeletewhy don't you sit this one out
What are the odds the new omalleys place and sqaure one both make it a year? 1 in 10 at best
ReplyDelete@lowercase Brendan
ReplyDeleteI heard City Tavern will have a billy goat dish, you will love it.
Anyone else find it ironic that an anonymous female named "lily" always follows a post be an anonymous male named "steven." And "lily" always supports and furthers "steven's" points. Pretty transparent.
ReplyDeleteOh, and "steven," you didn't change your tune re: the new O'Malley's concept until just this week, after the Chicago Mag article was published online. You're quite the insider!
Feel free to write your own conspiracy....pretty dumb if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI was told by Mainstay to hold off on any inside info....i didnt ask why. When the news was released--- I released it here.
I also leaked the info on square One about 6 months prior because I was told I could---so I brought that inside knowledge here.
Our firm has been in talks with McCaffery since november and I planned on releasing some more info on the promenade but will hold it all back now.
I thought I could help this blog by adding insider info but I guess if all this blog is going to be is 14 yr old brats posting under "anon" on their mommy and daddys computer then I wont waste my time. There are some good contributors to this blog like MarkChicago, Mr. Downtown, ScottyboySL, and brendan but the out of control low budget idiocy is just too much.
Steven your constant attack on anons makes you look bad but there is no doubt you contribute a lot of great info to the blog. I cant comment on mr downtown or scottyboysl but markchicago and brendan do nothing but polute and create drama.Absolutely no usefull info ever comes form them. Every blog is gonna have internet tough guys and whatever name or fake name they post under is the same as an anon post. Lets all be friends kids
ReplyDeleteas long as Guinness is on tap I do not care
ReplyDelete@Mao
ReplyDeleteWhat an irony-loaded post, could be some kind of record.
Anyways, the whole Anon vs. User is a relevant concern. People (steven, BRENDAN, myself, others) don't want to know your address & SSN, but it helps to know there is consistency at this site and the posters aren't just some trolls who decided to pop in, post some garbage, and make us all dumber.
save your breath mark, we're dealing with some real simple minds here....
ReplyDeleteI especially love it when someone rebels against the request of adding a screename by posting "brendan" or "coward", "unfitguy", etc. Shows the maturity level that we're dealing with here. Such a shame, just wasting precious brain cells.
This is good for the 1400 block of South Michigan. That is three new business with the two bars and the children's playroom opening. Looks like something else is going on next to the Solo Eyecare. So maybe 4 new businesses on the 1400 block by the end of summer? Hopefully this is the beginning and someone renovates the vacant/abandoned buildings.
ReplyDelete@ Brendan
ReplyDeletePlease realize that 90 % of your posts are useless ignorant rants about how anons ruin the blog. In the past ten or so blog entries by Sloopy, only anons (and to some extent Steven) have contributed with facts on (see e.g. the RC retail), while you keep posting garbage. Please stop so we can move on with the actual blog!
Yes, some anons do post garbage, but you do a much better job at the moment.
Actually i will go out on a limb and say that brendan contributes alot to this blog whether through opinion or fact. the anons are def the problem and always will be here...its about accountability and as mark said--it makes it so any idiot can just log on and post garbage and not have to incur any damages.
ReplyDeletebut please dont let facts cloud your fantasies
Any "idiot" can't just log on and post as Sloopy moderates entries. There is no actual accountability when posting with a name, it only acts to simplify discussion. At the moment, the most aggressive and condescending post (e.g. your remark at the end of your post) are from a handful of people who choose not to post under "anon".
ReplyDeleteNow, let's put this aside and discuss South Loop.
Property owner in the Sloop. Love it! No idea why O'Malley's closed, but a bar is a bar. I will go there!
ReplyDeletep.s. all stop with the idiocy
omalleys was a distaster and i dont think we need drunk college kids running around our hood again
ReplyDeleteTheir food was way lacking and waaaay too expensive for what you get.
ReplyDeletepass
I was in Grace's every night of the week if only for a couple. But even when I was there later in the evening I don't ever remember being run over by drunk college kids. Now Wabash Tap and lately Scout on the other hand... I just hope they get rid of those light posts on the bar. Oh and don't put the TV's where you have to break your neck to watch a game. Otherwise... we should always welcome any new business into the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to the new concept. Hopefully they learned from heir past mistakes and can come back stronger. Also it must be exhausting to check this blog and comment so many times. It's weird Steven.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it is essentially the same crew (owners and chefs) presenting essentially the same concept (pub grub), I'm not too optimistic. As others have said on this thread (and many previous threads), the food and service at Grace O'Malley's was sub-standard.
ReplyDeleteFor those that weren't here, Grace O'Malley's did at one time have really good food, but slowly as the economy got worse so did their food and service. I'm willing to give the new place a shot.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily specific to this post, but I'm guessing the posters regularly complaining that there are no restaurants, retail, etc. in the area because the commercial rents are too expensive are the same ones regularly complaining that the restaurants that are here are too expensive.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that "City Tavern" was Mainstay Hospitality's original concept - the building plans and materials were bought and in place months before Grace's shut down. For a while, Mainstay was going to forego City Tavern for an Italian concept but it appears as though they've gone back to the tavern. It won't be anything like Grace's - whole new staff, kitchen, chef (most importantly), design, decor. That being said, it's still owned by Mainstay...
ReplyDeleteThanks Molly
ReplyDeleteI too have passed on this same information to this blog only to be ripped apart by our "anon pets" that like to spread their charm all over sloopin.
Steven