GOLD COAST — Tavern on Rush owners are coming back to the Viagra Triangle, opening a restaurant across the street from its previous stomping grounds.
Less than a year after closing Tavern’s in an epic blowout, Phil Stefani is set to open a restaurant on the ground floor of the Thompson Hotel at Rush Street and Bellevue Place. The restaurant is currently home to lauded Italian restaurant Nico Osteria, which will close this fall.
Stefani’s new restaurant will open next spring, according to a press release. The restaurant group declined to comment on what the concept for the restaurant will be or if it will keep the Tavern on Rush name.
In a statement, Stefani said previous customers have been “clamoring” about how much they miss the restaurant saying they want the company to return to the neighborhood.
“We are excited to partner with the Thompson Hotel Chicago, our neighbor for nearly a decade, on a restaurant concept that fits the space, the neighborhood and the high-quality dining experience fans of Tavern have been missing. We look forward to coming home next year and hope to see our friends and customers return as well,” Stefani said in the statement.
The new restaurant will be 16,000 square feet and include a patio.
“To be able to work with Stefani Restaurant Group as they open a new space in the heart of the Gold Coast is truly an honor,” Stefanie Hrejsa, general manager of Thompson Chicago, said in a statement. “Guests of our hotel won’t even have to step outside to have what we’re sure will be one of the best meals — and experiences — in Chicago.”
Tavern on Rush permanently closed in October after its long-term lease ended and was not renewed. It spent more than 25 years at 1031 N. Rush St.
The Viagra Triangle steakhouse was famous for its weekly ladies’ night: Every Monday, the restaurant raffles a pair of Christian Louboutin heels. The heels, displayed in a glass box behind the bar, attracted droves of women and men.
Jim Banks and business partner Fred Barbara — who have owned 1031 N. Rush St. since 2005 — decided to gut and rehab the building into a restaurant of their own, the Bellevue, which opened in May.
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