- Credibility:
EAST VILLAGE — The Winchester, East Village’s reliable neighborhood brunch, drinks and dinner spot squarely located between Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village, has closed.
But the restaurant at 1001 N. Winchester Ave. will reemerge as a new concept “in the very near future,” according to a Facebook post on Friday that informed fans of the closure.
The Winchester opened in February 2014 and was possibly one of the early drivers of the sweeping avocado toast trend.
In spring 2015, there was an electrical fire at The Winchester that forced a closure for several weeks. At the time, Lincoln Square’s Baker Miller restaurant hosted a fundraiser dinner for the temporarily out-of-work Winchester employees.
Building owner and restaurant co-owner Christopher Pappas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Block Club. A voicemail message at the restaurant thanks callers and says the space is “currently undergoing internal renovations and will be temporarily closed until further notice.”
In the Facebook message, owners said the decision to close “was not an easy one to make” and that they had hoped to continue operating without interruption but ultimately and “begrudgingly decided to close down and evaluate the next steps.”
“We plan to re-open and re-concept in the very near future. Thank you to everyone who has supported us,” the post ended.
The two-story building at the corner of Winchester and Augusta that houses The Winchester is two blocks south of Division Street and three blocks north of Chicago Avenue. Shortly after The Winchester opened almost five years ago, co-owner Dan Sheehy estimated that 80 to 90 percent of its first customers were from the area.
