DML wrote:Harry's Hot Dogs, at Randolph and Franklin, will be closing in two weeks.

Recent article in the Sun Times

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/ ... 15.article

sundevilpeg wrote:Taylor Street, a small Italian place on Central St. in Evanston (between McDaniel and Crawford), has evidently closed up shop - the tables are gone, and strangely, all of the plants have been shoved together into a small grove in front of the door. This does not surprise me in the slightest, in that whenever I (or we, after a movie at the Evanston Googolplex) had the notion to try it, it was closed. ALWAYS. And every other time I ever drove by, no more than one table was filled.

I'll always wonder if it was any good, but it just seemed like the owners/operators weren't into it enough to go all out. I'm going to assume that it wasn't, though, as the north side of Evanston and Wilmette aren't exactly awash in good red-sauce Italian restaurants - hell, there isn't even a decent thin-crust pizza place up there. Done properly and open at more sensible hours - and Sunday, maybe? - this place could have seriously cleaned up.

I ate there once, slow service and below average food.

According to a report on ABC 7 news tonight, Mars is "pulling the plug" on the Ethel's Chocolate Lounge concept in the Chicago area, with five of its remaining six outlets here closing by the end of April. The sixth Ethel's in Old Orchard will also eventually be closed, but a date was not specified.

>>"The Chicago area stores have been underperforming so we made the decision to close them," said Alice Nathanson, a spokeswoman for the company. The exodus from Chicago comes after Mars closed five other area Ethel's outlets last summer. Mars debuted Ethel's in Chicago in 2006, a foray into high-end chocolate retailing. Mars most recently opened an Ethel's in the Loop in February 2008. <<

tarte tatin wrote:According to a report on ABC 7 news tonight, Mars is "pulling the plug" on the Ethel's Chocolate Lounge concept in the Chicago area, with five of its remaining six outlets here closing by the end of April.

FWIW, I always thought the problem with Ethel's was not the Chocolate Lounge concept but that they underdelivered on the promise. A "chocolate escape" could have worked if the chocolate on offer was good enough. A designer hot chocolate that I got about a year ago in the 900 N. Mich location really was "to die for" and worth the money, but other things at other times were not special enough to transport me anywhere.

I thought Ethels was ridiculously over priced. The quality did not come close to the price. I suspect the owners will blame the economy, but that's not the real reason the place did poorly.

I loved the concept of Ethel's, but the chocolate was reminiscent of Hershey's - poor quality in a pretty package.

Great. Just what Davis St. in Evanston needs - another vacant storefront east of Chicago Avenue.

There's a brand new Thai place on Lincoln just north of Belmont called Thai Thank You. I've not tried it yet, but I'm a bit worried as it's less than a block down from Pho's Thai Cusine which I adore, but rarely seems to be all that busy.

Tambreet wrote:There's a brand new Thai place on Lincoln just north of Belmont called Thai Thank You. I've not tried it yet, but I'm a bit worried as it's less than a block down from Pho's Thai Cusine which I adore, but rarely seems to be all that busy.

I was going to post this the other day, but forgot. It is in the old Susie China space, which was there for a long time. It's more fascinating to me that it's opening 1 block south of Pho's and a block and 1/2 from Asian Avenue (sushi and Thai) and the new late night Thai spot on Belmont. 4 Thai places within 2 blocks...I wish this would have been Korean or Indian or some other Asian cuisine.

It looks like Caliente on Fullerton has closed. Drove by Saturday evening and it was dark with a for rent sign in the window.

Tambreet, what do you adore about Pho's Thai? I went once and thought what I had was sort of like Thai 50s Chinese food, but I'm prepared to believe something else would be better.

Coming soon:

Felony Frank's in the old Mrs. B's (previously a Maxwell Street joint) at the northeast corner of Western and Jackson (300 S. Western Ave.), which has a nice new gray coat of paint. Not sure of the offerings, but at least they're putting up an effort in renovating the simple cinder block exterior.

gus wrote:Coming soon:

Felony Frank's in the old Mrs. B's (previously a Maxwell Street joint) at the northeast corner of Western and Jackson (300 S. Western Ave.), which has a nice new gray coat of paint. Not sure of the offerings, but at least they're putting up an effort in renovating the simple cinder block exterior.

just drove by today.

"Food so good, it's criminal"

Co-worker who lives in Naperville said she heard that Rosebud (48 W. Chicago Ave) was supposed to be closing and reopening as something different...more of a focus on homestyle cooking she thinks.

Yes, the Rosebud closing was reported on in The Stew awhile back in February. Supposed to reopen this month:

Rosebud of Naperville closes; will reopen with American comfort-food
Posted by Phil Vettel at 5:05 p.m. CT

"I've been watching pasta sales sorta slip away the last few years," says Alex Dana, head of the Rosebud Restaurants group. And Dana has noticed the rise of high-quality burger joints in town.

And so Dana has shut down Rosebud of Naperville (48 W. Chicago Ave., Naperville, 630-548-9800) for a top-to-bottom makeover. When the dust settles in April, the space will reopen as Rosebud Burger, a casual, family-oriented restaurant with an American comfort-food menu built around Rosebud's signature burger, which won The Tribune's 'Chicago's Best Burgers" contest in June 2005.

"It'll be a real casual thing," Dana says of the new concept. "We'll bring out trays of complimentary pickles, coleslaw and beans--real retro stuff. We'll serve sandwiches in baskets, meatloaf, and we'll hold the prices way down."

The menu also will include Southern fried chicken, barbecued ribs, hand-dipped milkshakes and hot-fudge sundaes.

shotzy wrote:It looks like Caliente on Fullerton has closed. Drove by Saturday evening and it was dark with a for rent sign in the window.

There's a newish "Caliente Grill" on Damen just N. of Armitage where the short-lived Verona was. Wonder if it's related to the Caliente on Fullerton that closed?

With regret, my first posting is to report the demise of Capri at the Calamos complex in Naperville. According to a friend who talks to the owner, apparently people did not manage to find them at the new location and since the complex has not filled as quickly as they expected due to the economy, new customers were not finding them either. Now I need to find a new favorite place for veal.

Another restaurant coming soon on Western Ave.:

Joey's Shrimp House
1432 N. Western Ave.

Flapjacks Pancake House on Dempster just east of Greenwood in Niles/Park Ridge has been closed since April 4th. Sign on the door from the owners states that due to a 60% decline in business they could no longer stay afloat. From the language of the sign it sounds as if they did not give advance notice to their employees.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I loved the concept of Ethel's, but the chocolate was reminiscent of Hershey's - poor quality in a pretty package.

I like Hershey's chocolate but don't like M&M Mars chocolate at all. Ethel's was a good idea that fails because the product is sub-par and expensive.

I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this yet, but "U" Lucky Dog (nee Flukey's) on Western Ave has closed and there's a for sale sign on the building. Max's Beef is still open, so it's only the one location that has closed.

stevez wrote:I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this yet, but "U" Lucky Dog (nee Flukey's) on Western Ave has closed and there's a for sale sign on the building. Max's Beef is still open, so it's only the one location that has closed.

Yup--back in November:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=229305#p229305
We--especially my teenaged son--miss it, and it's one more business in the 'hood that's out. With so many car dealerships closed, Western Avenue up here is looking pretty deserted.

The Tuscany location at Clark & Waveland has signage indicating it is now Rockit Bar&Grill location. Not yet open, but I can't imagine they'll dilly-dally with Cubs season in swing.

Super, just what Wrigleyville needs, another bar filled with popped collars and $15 salads. Depressing, but not unsurprising.

Rockit Bar & Grill
3700 N Clark St
Chicago, IL

skess wrote:The Tuscany location at Clark & Waveland has signage indicating it is now Rockit Bar&Grill location. Not yet open, but I can't imagine they'll dilly-dally with Cubs season in swing.

Super, just what Wrigleyville needs, another bar filled with popped collars and $15 salads. Depressing, but not unsurprising.

Rockit Bar & Grill
3700 N Clark St
Chicago, IL

I keep hoping for a post in this thread that reads "Wrigley field closing and moving to Schaumburg." Like rain in the sahara though, it ain't finna happen.

Habibi wrote:

skess wrote:The Tuscany location at Clark & Waveland has signage indicating it is now Rockit Bar&Grill location. Not yet open, but I can't imagine they'll dilly-dally with Cubs season in swing.

Super, just what Wrigleyville needs, another bar filled with popped collars and $15 salads. Depressing, but not unsurprising.

Rockit Bar & Grill
3700 N Clark St
Chicago, IL

I keep hoping for a post in this thread that reads "Wrigley field closing and moving to Schaumburg." Like rain in the sahara though, it ain't finna happen.

Of course, I suspect that Wrigley was there before you were, so if you don't like Wrigley, you might want to consider making that Schaumburg move yourself.

I used to live a few blocks from Wrigley. Guess what? There's a ballpark there, with fans and bars. At some point, I decided that I didn't like the congestion so I moved someplace else.

Don't like baseball, crowds, and bars with baseball fans? Maybe Wrigleyville is not your neighborhood of choice.

Habibi wrote:I keep hoping for a post in this thread that reads "Wrigley field closing and moving to Schaumburg." Like rain in the sahara though, it ain't finna happen.

Personally I'd rather have baseball than food...

Habibi wrote:I keep hoping for a post in this thread that reads "Wrigley field closing and moving to Schaumburg."

Only to Schaumburg..? I have been holding out hope for a move to Portland.

Habibi wrote:

skess wrote:I keep hoping for a post in this thread that reads "Wrigley field closing and moving to Schaumburg." Like rain in the sahara though, it ain't finna happen.

Of course, I suspect that Wrigley was there before you were, so if you don't like Wrigley, you might want to consider making that Schaumburg move yourself.

I used to live a few blocks from Wrigley. Guess what? There's a ballpark there, with fans and bars. At some point, I decided that I didn't like the congestion so I moved someplace else.

Don't like baseball, crowds, and bars with baseball fans? Maybe Wrigleyville is not your neighborhood of choice.

I live quite a ways away from Wrigleyville and avoid the place studiously, but Cubsiness tends to spill over everywhere during baseball season. I just want to take the train in peace!

On-topic: I miss U Lucky Dawg more than I thought I would. It wasn't great, but it was there, and really the burger wasn't half bad. We have to walk much further now for junk (probably a good thing).

Do renamings fall under the rubric of this thread?

I walked past the original Merlo today (the one on Lincoln north of Wrightwood) and noticed the menus out front now identify the place as Merlo Salumeria. (There has been no change to the awning.) I think the name change is recent, because I stroll by there regularly and haven't happened to notice it before; whether it signals an actual change in direction or is just an attempt to "differentiate" (from a marketing point of view) this old original Merlo's from the others--maybe "freshen up" the identity of a place that was last the flavor of the month in a different century--I don't know.

riddlemay wrote:Do renamings fall under the rubric of this thread?

I vote yes.

I would have voted sooner but I was trapped under a big heavy rubric and couldn't reach the keyboard.

And that was after I'd just gotten out from under a purview.