RIVER NORTH — A New York-based hospitality group is expanding into Chicago with three restaurants on the same River North block, first launching an elevated version of its popular Greenwich Village trattoria.
Olio e Più, 445 N. Dearborn St., opens Wednesday. It takes over the space long run by popular Italian chain Rosebud Restaurants.
It’s the first restaurant outside New York from hospitality group The Group, which runs several eateries in the city. The first Olio e Più opened in 2010.
Like its older sibling, the newest Olio e Più features a menu reflecting a wide range of classic dishes developed by Italian native and Michelin-starred executive chef Danilo Galati. The menu includes house-made pasta such as chitarra alla carbonara with guanciale ($30) and pappardelle with braised lamb and seasonal vegetables ($30).
There will be a raw seafood bar, Italian cheeses and cured meat served with house-made rosemary-garlic focaccia, said Emil Stefkov, founder of The Group.
“I find Chicago very cool,” Stefkov said. “For me, Chicago in a way is like an original version of New York City before it became the city of the world.”
Rather than pizza, diners will find a small selection of flatbreads. The menu also includes prime meat and fish dishes, including beef tenderloin with a gorgonzola sauce ($60) and grilled branzino with roasted fennel, Taggiasca olives and caper gremolata ($42).
“Chicago being the birthplace of the steakhouse, with people having a good understanding of meat, we wanted to include very good cuts,” Stefkov said.
Partnering with local purveyors is another focus at Olio e Più. Modern Jewish deli Steingold’s of Chicago provides an Italian take on its beloved smoked salmon, and more collaborations are planned, Stefkov said.
For its cocktails, Olio worked with veteran Chicago mixologist Tim Williams of Pour Souls. Italian flavors and ingredients, such as Calabrian chili, herb-infused olive oil and amari, are included in his first seasonal drink menu.
“Being new to Chicago, it was very important for us to find people and businesses who are passionate about what they are doing as we are,” Stefkov said.
There’s a strong focus on interior design inside the 288-seat restaurant. New and vintage pieces are used to channel a ’70s Italian country house — think antique chandeliers, wood-beamed ceiling and tiled floors. Artisans from Europe were brought in to do the restaurant’s millwork and interior painting, Stefkov said. There’s an open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides.
“We approach the design like we are creating a movie set where nothing can be from another era,” said Stefkov, who helped with the design. “When you are there, there is nothing to remind you of the here and now.”
One of Stefkov’s favorite pieces is the bar’s pewter countertop, which stretches the entire length of the restaurant. Custom-built in France, it was made with a 200-year-old crafting technique.
“It’s literally a sculpture that takes months to build,” he said.
The Dearborn Street spot has long hosted various Italian restaurants.
Mama’s Boy abruptly closed in January 2019 after less than three years in business. Before that, it was another Rosebud eatery, Joe Fish, which focused on seafood. That also lasted about two years, closing in 2016 after parting ways with the chef.
Rosebud Trattoria closed in 2013. It was slated to become a farm-to-table concept, but that quickly fell through.
The two other restaurants from The Group are planned a few steps away.
La Grande Boucherie, a Parisian dining concept, will open in late February next door at 431 N. Dearborn. Omakase Room, a 10-seat Japanese concept also in River North, will open by March in the same building.
The Boucherie space previously was a Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which closed in 2020.
“Between the two of them together occupying a whole block, we believe we will create a presence that will change the look in that part of the neighborhood,” Stefkov said. “We can have a real impact on the neighborhood.”
Olio e Più is open 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday-Sunday.
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