LOGAN SQUARE — Sprawling Mexican restaurant and party bar Federales is opening a new location in Logan Square.
Four Corners, the hospitality group behind Federales and other popular spots such as Ranalli’s, Benchmark and Kirkwood, is opening Federales Logan Square at the corner of Milwaukee and Sacramento avenues. The building previously housed Marcello’s Father & Son restaurant.
It will be the fourth Federales outpost. In addition to the original West Loop restaurant at 180 N. Morgan St., Four Corners runs Federales restaurants in Dallas and Denver.
Federales Logan Square is expected to open next year, according to an emailed statement from Four Corners’ managing director, Matt Doherty.
“We wanted to bring another taste of our popular concept to Chicago expanding with a second Federales location in Logan Square, and we’re excited to offer the same great authentic drinks, creative tacos and industrial vibe to continue building memorable experiences for our guests in 2023,” Doherty said.
Construction crews began clearing the Milwaukee Avenue site last month to make way for the restaurant.
Marcello’s Father & Son Restaurant, best known for its thin-crust tavern-style pizza, closed in 2019 after 72 years in Logan Square.
Owner Billy Bauer, whose family ran the restaurant for generations, decided to sell the property and focus on their growing delivery and catering business.
Bauer briefly reopened Father & Son for carryout and delivery while shopping the property to developers before closing the restaurant for good.
A city building permit for the construction of a one-story restaurant at 2471 N. Milwaukee Ave. was issued to Four Corners hospitality group Nov. 21, city records show.
FS Brothers LLC, a limited liability corporation owned by Martin Barboza, Mathew Focht, John Davie and Michael Schwartz, bought the property from Bauer for $4 million in November 2021, according to Cook County property records.
Barboza also owns a building a couple blocks away that was most recently home to neighborhood bar The Rocking Horse.
A sports bar called Roundhouse is opening in place of The Rocking Horse, which closed during the pandemic after a months-long dispute between Barboza and the bar’s owner.
Co-founded by Sterling Bay principal Matt Menna, Four Corners was hit with a lawsuit in 2018, alleging the group’s owners withheld $30 million in tips from servers and bartenders for several years.
The company charged the allegations were “without merit and based on a misunderstanding” in a statement, according to Eater.