- Credibility:
BUCKTOWN — Bucktown’s beloved Le Bouchon will be closed for the “foreseeable future” after a kitchen fire this week.
Firefighters responded around 4 p.m. Tuesday to a fire inside the restaurant, 1958 N. Damen Ave., officials said. The fire was quickly put out, and no one was injured, according to a department spokesperson.
The fire caused a “decent amount of damage,” forcing the restaurant to close, according to Le Bouchon’s Instagram post.
“The good news is nobody is hurt, and it could have been worse,” restaurant management wrote on social media. “Thank you for understanding, and hopefully we’ll be back soon.”
Le Bouchon’s fire is a setback for a restaurant that has been a favorite of neighbors for three decades.
Chef Jean-Claude Poilevey opened the Parisian bistro in 1993, and the business has been a local favorite since.
Le Bouchon is credited with bringing French home-style cooking to Chicago and was voted one of the best French restaurants in the city by Time Out Magazine.
The bistro was featured in a 2001 episode of WTTW-TV’s “Check, Please!” with special guest Barack Obama, then a state senator.
Le Bouchon — which translates to “the cork” — celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party in 2018. Poilevey died two years prior to the milestone.
The restaurant has remained a family-operated business under Poilevey’s sons, Oliver and Nicolas. The brothers expanded their take on French cuisine by opening Obélix in River North last year.
Le Buchon’s management did not immediately return a request for comment.
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