EDGEWATER — The owner of a popular Andersonville wine bar is bringing food and drinks to the beachfront this summer.
Aura, 5701 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, is set to open in mid-July at Kathy Osterman Beach, providing a “more casual extension” of Andersonville’s Uvae Kitchen & Wine Bar, 5553 N. Clark St., owner Lindsey Anderson-Perez said.
“We want it to feel like a vacation on our own lakefront,” Anderson-Perez said. “It’s going to be relaxed and kind of bohemian, but with really quality food.”
All of the food will be prepared in Uvae’s kitchen, then transported to Aura to be prepped and served straight from the beachfront kitchen, Anderson-Perez said.
Aura’s menu will feature items like lobster nachos and blackened grouper tacos as well as plenty of salads. The dishes are intended to remind visitors of traveling to coastal vacation towns, Anderson-Perez said.
“What makes us unique from other beachfront establishments is that there’s going to be a higher-quality product as far as the menu goes,” Anderson-Perez said.
A part of the beach will be roped off so that diners can enjoy their meals on the sand in addition to Aura’s outdoor patio, Anderson-Perez said.
There will be live musical performances on the patio on Fridays. The restaurant will eventually serve brunch on Sundays, Anderson-Perez said.
The name Aura is a Latin word that means breeze, Anderson-Perez said. This follows Uvae’s theme, which is named after the Latin word for grapes.
Uvae opened in 2019 and has since expanded next door to include The Fromagerie & Tasting Room, 5553 N. Clark St., a wine and cheese store that doubles as an event space.
Anderson-Perez decided to start this latest venture after learning the restaurant that previously occupied the space closed last summer.
“One of my husband and I’s favorite things to do in the summer is ride bikes and do beach bar crawls along the lakefront,” Anderson-Perez said. “It just seemed like good timing that it was available and something fun for the summer months that I would love to be a part of.”
There’s not a set opening date for the restaurant yet, but Anderson-Perez expects it will open within the next few weeks.
“There’s just not a whole lot of restaurants in that area right now, so we’ve seen a great drive from the neighborhood to open,” Anderson-Perez said.
Anderson-Perez signed a contract for the space for the next five years and hopes to eventually host weddings and other private events on the beach.
“My hope is that this becomes a dining destination,” Anderson-Perez said. “That it’s not just a place where someone says, ‘I’m at the beach anyway and I want to get some food,’ but that people say, ‘I want to walk over there from Andersonville and the surrounding communities for a nice lunch or dinner.’”
For updates, visit Aura’s Instagram.
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