Minor note: the new Julius Meinl is on the North Center side of Montrose, which is the dividing line between Lincoln Square and North Center.

cybermud wrote:For a couple of years now, the former Rushmore space has looked pretty much the same, right down to the bottles behind the bar and one light on even though it had long since closed. The last time I went by it, though, I noticed paper covering the windows...does anybody have the scoop on what's going on?

Looks like this will be "Addiction Sports Bar & Lounge"

http://chicago.everyblock.com/liquor-li ... 22/947067/

Sweet Thang on North has closed. A sign says they've lost their lease and are looking for a new location. The Roscoe Village location remains open.

Does anyone know whats going on with the Lets Go Dinner restaurant in Wicker Park? And since it says "breakfast" on the awning, is it supposed to be a Diner? They've looked like they could open any day for about a year!

Jazmyn's Jerk Chicken (1164 Dodge Ave, Evanston) is sporting a new, temporary-looking sign - Kingston Grill. There's still a Jamaican flag hanging over the door. No word whether it's an ownership change or just a name change.

Thursday evening I passed by Zascianek around 6 PM heading eastbound. It seemed totally dark and had a for sale sign with some smaller writing in the window. This afternoon I passed westbound and there was parking directly in front, so I was able to see that the for sale sign was for a restaurant, presumably the one inside.

Nearby the Oak Mill Bakery outlet roughly across Belmont from A&G has had a big for lease sign in the window for at least a few weeks.

In the block east of Central Samantha's Restaurant had closed but has reopened, possibly under a different name. Some but not all the the Samantha's signage has been removed. The new signs are scrawled in markers on cardboard and are totally in Polish.

The second building west of Kimball on the north side of Montrose has signs for a Colombian restaurant coming soon: Flying Chicken or El Pollo Voyador. Several months ago Mr. Pollo closed their Montrose location when they opened a new restaurant in the 5200 block of West Diversey.

"The Parmegian, An Italian Restaurant," which seemed unpromising from the start when it opened in April at the Lincoln Avenue location that was Calliope, is already gone.

I hate that. Never went, but I hate the story that forms in your mind, of people who put all their assets into a venture about which you could have told them, if they'd only asked, "Unless your food is fantastic--and I mean fantastic as in defying all expectations--you're going to lose everything."

cilantro wrote:Sweet Thang on North has closed. A sign says they've lost their lease and are looking for a new location. The Roscoe Village location remains open.

I saw this last week and forgot to post. That same day I also saw that the Bar Louie on Damen was vacant and dismantled inside, seemingly overnight.

That same day I also saw that the Bar Louie on Damen was vacant and dismantled inside, seemingly overnight.

Let's hope whoever's responsible strikes again and again...

"The Parmegian, An Italian Restaurant," which seemed unpromising from the start when it opened in April at the Lincoln Avenue location that was Calliope, is already gone.

I hate that.

Read Mike Sula's review before it vanishes.

You'll still be sorry for the people, but not sorry you never went...

Sweet Thang on North has closed. A sign says they've lost their lease and are looking for a new location. The Roscoe Village location remains open.

There is a sign up in a storefront at Lawrence and Damen for Sweet Thang going in there.

In the vacant lot just north of Bob Chinn's in Wheeling, there's been a For Sale sign for some time. It's now blank plastic sign covering an oddly-shaped small billboard... but there's a bit of Maurie and Flaurie peeking out.

So I'm guessing the Wheeling Superdawg is a go.

I just received an email from Paprikash restaurant saying that they are closing their Arlington Heights restaurant at the end of July.

Quote:
That same day I also saw that the Bar Louie on Damen was vacant and dismantled inside, seemingly overnight.


Let's hope whoever's responsible strikes again and again...

It's funny that Restaurant Development Group (or whatever they go by now) still operates like they did twenty years ago. Strip the place bare and leave your creditors with nothing. Pretty hilarious for an operation that has a ton of locations nationwide to still operate in this way.

Looks like a new Oberweis Ice Cream shop is going in on the east side of Lincoln Ave, just north of Devon. I drove by it tonight and construction is in process and looks to be close to completion.

=R=

The sign on top of Whiskey Road (on Damen) has changed. I couldn't read it while they were installing it the other day - it's upside down letters behind big lenses that turn the focus right-side up. But it didn't look like it was going to say Whiskey Road.

Pizano,

Sounds like you know first hand about RDG. That's just one way to legally steal from your suppliers / creditors. If you have no concience it's like free money. Sickening.

pizano345 wrote:Restaurant Development Group (or whatever they go by now)

They go by Restaurants-America.

If you look into the Bar Louie space it appears like someone took a chainsaw to the bar. It's there, but there's a great big section just taken out of it.

"The Parmegian, An Italian Restaurant," which seemed unpromising from the start when it opened in April at the Lincoln Avenue location that was Calliope, is already gone.

I hate that. Never went, but I hate the story that forms in your mind, of people who put all their assets into a venture about which you could have told them, if they'd only asked, "Unless your food is fantastic--and I mean fantastic as in defying all expectations--you're going to lose everything."

Just a few weeks ago I stopped into The Parmegian on a Saturday afternoon as I was walking by. I wanted to check out the interior as well as the menu, but had already eaten my lunch. The place was completely empty and I really thought the decor was a lot friendlier when the building housed Calliope Cafe. I spoke a bit with the 'general manager' who handed me a take out menu and invited me to come back for dinner one night. He mentioned they were BYOB and the patio is really nice at night. The 'patio' is an offshoot of the parking lot, which was not at all appealing to me. He also mentioned that they soon were going to be offering Mexican food as well, and right at that point, I knew they were doomed. I did not expect them to give up so soon, but the obvious lack of customers on a nightly basis I am sure made for an easy decision. The average menu consisting of very basic Italian fare I am sure did not help either.

Living in the neighborhood I always would like small businesses to succeed, but with this one, I did not have the time to even give it a single try before they were gone and from what I saw, the effort just was not there, no matter how much was spent to renovate and open The Parmegian. Even the name should have been better. Hopefully the owners are moving on and will get another chance, and will take this as a lesson learned.

[quote="mkess"]Buffalo Wings & Rings
100 McHenry Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
http://www.bwrbuffalogrove.com/
quote]

Opened Yesterday. Picked up some wings and they're working out the kinks with some service issues. The place was packed but there were a lot of frustrated looking & sounding customers. My order was ready when I got there but the cash register was not. Normally, I can get a little peeved looking at my prepared order sit for 10 minutes on a shelf without any way to keep it warm. However, I took it in stride as it seemed like the staff was doing the best they could while keeping a decent attitude.

On my run today, I noticed that there's a DQ now on Damen in Bucktown (next to the Potbelly's)! I guess my suburban childhood is trying to come back to haunt me.

I saw that for the first time tonight as well. I also just noticed the LuLuLemon directly next door to the BeBe, right at Damon & North. That area is slowly becoming indistinguishable from Armitage.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:I saw that for the first time tonight as well. I also just noticed the LuLuLemon directly next door to the BeBe, right at Damon & North. That area is slowly becoming indistinguishable from Armitage.

No kidding. My office is right above the Potbelly next door to LuLuLemon. It's been a pain dealing with that construction.. for such a soul crushing set of stores in those three spaces.

And it's a DQ/Orange Julius, with two floors and a big party room, apparently. My impression is that it will not have any food, just drinks/ice cream/cakes/etc.

Also, the mexican restaurant (Lobos al Fresco? I can't remember) on Milwaukee near Wabansia has closed, and has been replaced by another Mexican place. I can't remember the name right now, though.

Also, the mexican restaurant (Lobos al Fresco? I can't remember) on Milwaukee near Wabansia has closed, and has been replaced by another Mexican place. I can't remember the name right now, though.

This is the place across from the Blockbuster, right?

If so, the signage reads, "Cafe Con Leche" and the symbol looks identical to the one in Logan Square at Milwaukee/Sawyer, across from McDonald's/El Pollo Loco.

This little place delivers a great neighborhood experience with very little space. For some reason, I only go for breakfast & coffees, and the breakfast sandwiches are a thing of pure indulgence. Gotta get both red/green sauces (not really salsas) with them to complete the greatness. Not your typical north side coffee house; no "skim", sugar/cinnamon comes with coffees unless you say otherwise.

Enjoy!
miss ellen

The Starbuck's at 2454 N. Ashland is closing. It's the one right across from the Player's Club.

pizano345 wrote:It's funny that Restaurant Development Group (or whatever they go by now) still operates like they did twenty years ago. Strip the place bare and leave your creditors with nothing. Pretty hilarious for an operation that has a ton of locations nationwide to still operate in this way.

Aren't Bar Louie's franchised?

Sheba Cafe seems to have closed. With their wildly uneven hours it used to be hard to tell whether Sheba was open or closed at any given time. But now all the furniture has been removed. Too bad. When they were on, the kitchen there was delivering my favorite Ethiopian food in town.

Most if not all Bar Louies are franchised. They do not seem very fussy about to whom they will sell a franchise, so there seems to be a lot of churn. The Bucktown location apparently reached the end of its lease according to their press release.

Noticed today that my favorite Afghan restaurant, Kabul House, is moving two or three blocks west, to 3606 Dempster, still in Skokie. Not sure of timing, but seems imminent.

nr706 wrote:Noticed today that my favorite Afghan restaurant, Kabul House, is moving two or three blocks west, to 3606 Dempster, still in Skokie. Not sure of timing, but seems imminent.

Unfortunately, that also means Kabul House will be closed for business until they can open their new location--and that won't be until September, I was told. According to Abdul, the ceiling at their current place collapsed, and they are unable to re-open there. He promises the same great food in much nicer surroundings in a couple of months!