Crain's Chicago Business

07/10/2025

There are hundreds of restaurants in the booming West Loop. They line the streets and pack in customers nightly, from pizza parlors to trendy steakhouses to award-winning fine-dining spots.

But there's one spot that doesn't scream to be seen: Izakaya at Momotaro.

An izakaya is a Japanese pub, and this one is the younger sibling to the pricier restaurant upstairs, Momotaro. Iza has a compact menu of donburi, DIY hand rolls, sashimi and other creative Japanese staples.

It's secretive and subterranean, with a sign so hard to see you might miss it. Moody and noisy, Izakaya at Momotaro is also one of the best date spots in town.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/dining-table-david-manilow/dining-table-recommends-izakaya-at-momotaro?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/10/2025

The developers set to buy the northern portion of the stalled Lincoln Yards megaproject site along the North Branch of the Chicago River are planning a "residential community" on the land at a far smaller scale than the previously proposed 14 million-square-foot campus.

Offering the first details publicly for a project they are rebranding as "Foundry Park," a joint venture of Chicago-based JDL Development and Boca Raton, Fla.-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate today confirmed it has an agreement to buy a 31-acre site along the river from Bank OZK.

Crain's first reported in May that JDL was in advanced talks to buy the land from the Little Rock, Ark-based lender, which seized the property earlier this year from Chicago developer Sterling Bay to resolve an outstanding loan.

Formally kicking off a new chapter for the embattled megadevelopment, JDL and Kayne Anderson said in a statement they are "moving quickly to reimagine" the site with a project that will be "heavily focused on the creation of a residential community" and named as a tribune to the property's industrial history.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/jdl-unveils-foundry-park-residential-plan-lincoln-yards-site?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/09/2025

A grand estate in Lake Forest, built in the 1930s by Lo**ta Armour, who invested her way out of the pool of debt left by her meatpacker husband, is for rent at nearly $40,000 a month less than a year after it was sold for the first time in half a century.

The regal seven-bedroom mansion on Green Bay Road was designed by architect David Adler, who mixed Georgian and French chateau elements and worked with his sister, Frances Elkins, on the interiors.

The 5.4-acre property, known as Suffield House, sold for $5.7 million in November, about two years after it went on the market at $10.1 million.

The property, for rent at $39,900 per month, has a pool and cabana house and interior features that include vines embossed on walls, carved wood paneling and door hardware emblazoned with a stylized 'A' for Armour.

Listing photos show that many of the historical finishes that have been in place since the 1930s are intact.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/lolita-armours-1930s-lake-forest-estate-now-rent?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/09/2025

Chicago restaurant operators throughout the city are betting that the era of the $20 cocktail is ending.

In River North, restaurant Lia opened last month with a cocktail list full of $12 options. In Logan Square, upcoming bar and restaurant The Radicle is promising $10 cocktails all day. The cocktails at Gus’ Sip & Dip on Hubbard Street are also $12.

Once a sure-fire bottom-line booster in an industry known for its low profit margins, the high-price cocktail menu is turning into a red flag for value-seeking customers. Diners have become more price sensitive amid the economic uncertainty of the Trump administration’s trade war, paired with compounded inflation.

Restaurants are betting that offering lower cocktail prices will boost customer traffic. They hope that diners, used to paying north of $18 for a cocktail in Chicago, will be delighted to see a lower price point. And when their check comes, they might realize they can afford to eat out multiple times a week after all.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/restaurants/chicago-restaurants-cocktail-prices?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/08/2025

Is deep-dish pizza ready for the national stage? The new heads of two Chicago pizza chains are betting big on America’s appetite for the beloved — and sometimes maligned — Windy City pie.

Lou Malnati’s and Giordano's ushered in new CEOs this year, both with plans for a national expansion. As Lou Malnati’s new chief, Julie Younglove-Webb, put it: “The ultimate goal is to become a national iconic brand with a multistate presence beyond just places where Chicagoans vacation in the winter.”

New Giordano's CEO Nick Scarpino has already announced an opening in Washington, D.C., its first in the area. He said the company will continue to add locations in high-travel destinations but did not comment on a target number. Younglove-Webb hopes to begin opening at least 10 Lou Malnati's stores annually soon.

Yet the new CEOs are taking over amid an increasingly uncertain economic climate. Overall, the pizza market has slowed since the highs of the COVID pandemic. Americans are now spending less when they do eat out as consumers brace for a potential recession, making potential gains into any new market all the more fraught.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/restaurants/giordanos-lou-malnatis-pizza-look-beyond-chicago-growth?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/07/2025

Open outcry trading pit relics, an immersive theater and nods to the Chicago Board of Trade Building's history in movies and TV are part of a new museum opening this week at the Loop landmark, an attraction the tower's owner and city officials hope will help bring new foot traffic to vacancy-ridden LaSalle Street.

Boosted by a $250,000 grant from the city's Small Business Improvement Fund, a new Chicago Board of Trade Museum officially debuts July 8 on the ground floor at 141 W. Jackson Blvd.

The 44-story building overlooking the LaSalle Street canyon already has an estimated 1,000 visitors each month from architecture tours and other visitor groups, said R2 Partner Gary Stoltz, but the museum is meant to be another draw for tourists to a part of the city they might not automatically think to visit.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/look-inside-new-chicago-board-trade-building-museum?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/06/2025

The Highland Park estate Michael Jordan sold in December is now available as a short-term rental, offered by the new owner on Airbnb at $105,514 for seven nights.

If that's too pricey, Scottie Pippen's old house a few blocks away can be rented for $9,244 for five nights.

The Airbnb listing for the seven-bedroom house on Point Lane does not use Jordan's name.

The estate, according to the listing, "was built with privacy, security and luxury in mind." A gigantic 23, Jordan's jersey number, still hangs on the front gates, although they're not shown in the Airbnb listing.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/former-michael-jordan-scottie-pippen-homes-listed-airbnb?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/05/2025

The rehabbers of the modest Dolton house where Pope Leo grew up are selling it to the village, in a deal approved Monday night by the village board.

Prior to the board's decision, the property's owner, DPR Homes, a Manhattan rehab company headed by Pawel Radzik, had it listed for auction with a New York-based company. Radzik told Crain's he was seeking the maximum value of the house. Given the worldwide spotlight on the former Robert Prevost, whose parents owned the Dolton house from 1949 to 1996, the auction seemed likely to attract investors with plans to monetize the property.

At a recent meeting, Dolton Mayor Jason House said, "we can either seize this moment or we can let that moment go to an investor. I would like for our community to get the benefit."

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/dolton-reaches-deal-buy-pope-leos-childhood-home?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/03/2025

A new restaurant is coming to the old Esquire Theater space on Oak Street in another shakeup for the Gold Coast’s dining scene.

Nashville-based M Street Entertainment plans to open a restaurant at 58 E. Oak St., according to city permit data and sources familiar with the deal.

The exact type of restaurant M Street has in mind for the space isn’t yet clear, though some people with knowledge of the plans said it could be one or more of the group’s existing concepts, which include a steakhouse and elevated Italian and Asian cuisine, according to its website.

M Street will be part of an ongoing wave of restaurant upheavals and revivals in the ritzy Gold Coast neighborhood. Area mainstay Carmine’s is set to open in an upgraded space this year, and storied steakhouse Tavern on Rush has moved down the street, with The Bellevue opening in its old spot.

The Nashville group will also be the third restaurant operator to occupy the former Esquire space since it was redeveloped. Formerly a movie theater, the property was converted to upscale retail space about 10 years ago.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/chicago-architect-marc-cerone-selling-southwest-michigan-home?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

Marc Cerone, who worked on projects at the Steppenwolf Theatre and the Chicago Architecture Center, is selling his house in Lakeside after taking a job in Saudi Arabia.

07/02/2025

Whether it's mahi-mahi, sea bass, snapper, a steamed lobster roll, shrimp salad or one of Chef Louie Psihogios’ specials, Boston Fish Market is worth the trip to Des Plaines.

Crain’s Recommender-in-Chief David Manilow lauds the seafood joint and reflects on meals he has there on the way to O’Hare.

Get this week's recommendation and other food news from Crain’s restaurant team in our subscriber-only newsletter, The Dining Table.

Read the full rec here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/dining-table-david-manilow/dining-table-recommends-boston-fish-market?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

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07/02/2025

With the lowest cannabis prices in the nation, Michigan’s border towns have become lucrative outposts for the state’s operators and havens for out-of-state consumers who are either escaping prohibition or exorbitant prices.
And the small community of New Buffalo Township has become the epicenter of destination dope.

A Puff Cannabis store just opened last weekend, and House of Dank is poised to open up shop as soon as it gets local approval. The Troy-based company has dropped millions to be there — its biggest investment in a retail store to date.

“It’s the hottest market in the country right now,” said Mike DiLaura, House of Dank’s in-house attorney and head of corporate operations. “The 1-mile stretch of stores near I-94 is probably the biggest seller of cannabis in the entire world.”

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/cannabis/how-new-buffalo-michigan-became-weed-city-usa?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/01/2025

When LIV Golf, the controversial Saudi-funded tour challenging golf’s establishment, lost its residency more than a year ago at the exclusive Rich Harvest Farms club in far west suburban Sugar Grove, local golf fans figured organizers would seek out a new welcome mat at another of the storied private clubs — maybe Medinah or Olympia Fields or Butler National — in the professional golf-starved Chicago marketplace.

Not hardly.

More than a year ago, on a tight deadline, LIV announced a deal to move its 2024 event to the municipal Bolingbrook Golf Club, a nondescript public course unlikely to appear on the radar of elite touring pros.

It’s flat, largely treeless and mostly defenseless in the face of low-handicappers except for the man-made ponds that its designer, Arthur Hills, carved into cornfields three decades ago.

Read more here: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/sports/liv-golf-returns-bolingbrook-despite-low-profile-course?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own