A regularly updated list of forthcoming restaurants and bars

Wondering what’s in the works in the Chicago area for restaurants, bars, and cafes? Look no further than Eater Chicago’s guide to summer 2022’s coming attractions for dining. Did we miss something? Send Eater Chicago a tip at chicago@eater.com.

Avondale: After six years of preparations, Chicago beer maker Lake Effect Brewing Company has ditched plans to open a taproom inside a historic Jefferson Park firehouse and will instead debut in early 2023 in Avondale, according to Block Club Chicago. Despite a promising start and partnership with Ambrosia Homes in 2016, the project dragged through a slow permitting process, zoning change, and the lifting of a liquor sales ban along the street. The lease on Lake Effect’s current space expires at the end of the year, so a still-vague timeline on the firehouse location prompted brewery owner Clint Bautz to look elsewhere. He has declined to share an address with reporters but says the one-story space will include an indoor tasting room and outdoor beer garden.

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Bucktown: The Green, a bar and restaurant with indoor golf simulation bays, is coming in early September to an 8,500-square-foot space on the first level of an apartment building at 2131 N. Elston Avenue, according to Crain’s. It will feature nine Golfzon Golf Simulators, and will be the first venue in North America to house the company’s new TwoVision edition, partner Matt Barry tells reporters. Most food and drink details remain under wraps, but patrons can expect a version of a Masters Tournament staple: pimiento cheese and egg salad sandwiches. The partners have not named the person behind culinary operations, but say it will be run by a former Alinea chef and instructor at Le Cordon Bleu.

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River North: Miami-based upscale Southern restaurant chain Yardbird has applied for a liquor license for its forthcoming location at 530 N. Wabash, formerly the home of P.F. Chang’s in the Hilton Garden Inn. Co-founded in 2011 by Top Chef finalist Jeff McInnis, Yardbird currently operates locations in California; Texas; Washington, D.C.; Florida; Nevada; and Singapore, and plans to also open in 2022 in Denver.

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West Loop: An expansive Italian restaurant and gourmet retail market is scheduled to open this summer with a pastry counter and wine, coffee, and cocktail bars inside the 320 South Canal office tower, according to a rep. Dubbed Canal Street Eatery and Market, the 11,000-square-foot space will serve pizza, fresh pasta, and Italian sandwiches from executive chef Forster Sorensen (Wyler Road) and chef de cuisine Ross Sundberg (West Town Bakery & Diner). The team also plans to soon launch Afterbar, a cocktail spot that also serves wine and beer, in an adjacent space just south of the restaurant and market. The project is from Spearhead Hospitality, also behind the Robey in Wicker Park and Chikatana in Fulton Market.

Wicker Park: A Michigan-based chain, Casa Tequila, should soon open its first Chicago location at 1949 W. Division Street. Signage is up, but there’s no indication of an opening date. The chain has more than 15 locations in Michigan.

Auburn Gresham: A new motorcycle-themed restaurant called Kickstands will open at 1423 W. 79th Street in August, Block Club reports. Owner Anthony Price promises a casual menu similar to TGIFridays or Applebees, walls full of motorcycle memorabilia, and employees recruited from within the neighborhood.

Fulton Market: Drive Shack, the bar, restaurant, and indoor driving range chain that was originally slated to open a Chicago location in the former Vienna Beef factory in Bucktown in 2020 and then cancelled, will be revived at 932 W. Randolph Street later this year, according to a liquor license application.

Near North Side: Antique store Architectural Artifacts will reopen at 1065 N. Orleans as a full-scale event space with a bar and all-day cafe run by chef Andrew Holladay of Lula Cafe featuring wine, snacks, and Detroit-style pizza.

River North: A new restaurant called Indienne has applied for a liquor license for 217 W. Huron Street, the former site of Bar Lupo, which closed in 2018.

Lincoln Park: The owner of neighborhood beer bar and burger hotspot the Bad Apple is eyeing a possible second location at 658 W. Belden Avenue, the former home of the original John Barleycorn, the infamous watering hole that closed in 2014 after 50 years, according to WhatNowChicago. Kevin O’Hare, who bought the Bad Apple in 2019, tells reporters that a deal is not yet final, but if it does come to fruition, the new bar could open in late 2022 or early 2023.

Lincoln Park: A third location of Kong Dog, the Korean hot dog spot that became a TikTok sensation last summer when it opened in Glenview, will be opening soon at 2411 N. Clark Street, the former home of Pizza Nostra. In addition to the Glenview location, there’s also an outpost on Taylor Street near UIC.

Lincoln Park: Fast-growing West Coast chain Mochinut plans to bring its mochi doughnuts and Korean hot dogs on sticks to 733 W. Fullerton Avenue in late 2022, according to its website and social media. The brand in April opened its first Chicago location in Little Italy near the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and aims to soon open suburban shops in Wheeling and Arlington Heights.

West Town: Barcocina, the seven-year-old modern Mexican restaurant in Lakeview, is making moves to take over the space at 1814 W. Chicago Avenue, according to a liquor license application. The space previously housed Tecalitlan, a popular Mexican stalwart that in 2021 moved to Lincoln Park after half a century in business. Barcocina first opened in 2015 on Sheffield Avenue and George Street.

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Wheeling: Fifty/50 Restaurant Group’s West Town Bakery and Diner has proposed a new outpost at 781 N. Milwaukee Avenue in suburban Wheeling, according to WhatNowChicago. If village officials approve the plan, the bakery’s first location outside the city will share the location — a nearly 12,000-foot space that until 2019 housed breastaurant chain Twin Peaks — with marijuana dispensary OKAY Cannabis Experience. West Town Bakery, known for sassy and colorful sweets, has locations in its eponymous neighborhood of West Town, as well as Wrigleyville, the Loop, and River North.

Edgewater: The owners of Porkchop, the barbecue mini-chain, have applied for a city liquor license for a fourth location at 6341-6343 N. Broadway, a storefront that was, for 80 years, the home of Hamilton’s, the legendary Loyola campus bar that closed in 2012. Porkchop already has locations in Albany Park, the West Loop, and Midway Airport.

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Fulton Market: DineAmic Hospitality, the group behind Lyra, Bar Siena, and Prime and Provisions, among others, will open an Italian steakhouse called Fioretta in a new office tower at 320 S. Sangamon Street later this year, Crain’s reports. The kitchen will be run by brothers and former Top Chef contestants Michael and Bryan Voltaggio (Michael won, Bryan didn’t) and the dining room will be decked out 1950s style.

Goose Island: The iO Theater, the improv comedy institution at 1501 N. Kingsbury, will reopen this fall with its bar intact according to a city liquor license filing. This is important because sometimes alcohol is necessary for audiences of amateur improv performances.

Loop: A new outpost of Casa Bonita, a Mexican restaurant in suburban Libertyville, will open in Millennium Park later this month, Crain’s reports. This is part of a deal between Casa Bonita’s parent company, Vandalay Brands, and the city to oversee all concessions in the park. Other Vandalay properties with locations in the park include Napolita Pizzeria and Double Clutch Brewery.

Uptown: Marina’s Cafe, a new Puerto Rican and Latin fusion restaurant will be opening in a former video store at 4554 N. Magnolia Avenue later this summer, WhatNow Chicago reports. Owner Eric Roldan is currently operating the restaurant as a catering business using his family recipes.

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West Loop: A restaurant called Sante will be opening in the new office tower at 320 S. Canal Street that’s adjacent to Union Station, according to a city liquor license application. The owners are part of DRW Holdings, an electronic trading firm in the city.

Oak Brook: The Downers Grove-based winery chain Cooper’s Hawk plans to open a Neapolitan pizza spot called Piccolo Buco by Cooper’s Hawk run by chef Luca Issa, the chef behind the original Piccolo Buco in Rome, that will cater to its wine club, Crain’s reports. It will be a sibling restaurant to Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk, the Gold Coast spot that opened this spring with the promise of a different celebrity guest chef every quarter.

For a list of coming attractions from spring 2022, click here.

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