AVONDALE — Parachute, the beloved Korean American restaurant in Avondale that closed last month, is coming back — sort of.
Award-winning chefs and couple Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark, who recently closed Parachute after 10 years, announced their next “album” for the space: Parachute HiFi, a new concept that brings music and food to the forefront.
Parachute HiFi will open in the summer at 3500 N. Elston Ave., the owners announced Monday on social media. The Tribune was first to report the news.
The bar and restaurant will have a professional sound system, curated vinyl on the speakers and nightly music programs, the owners wrote.
The owners were not immediately reachable Monday but told the Tribune the menu will be simpler, more affordable and accessible than Parachute’s.
And fans of Parachute’s famous bing bread can celebrate: It will return. Other Korean and American dishes will appear on the menu, including new renditions of popular Parachute items, the owners wrote.
“Creative cocktails, ‘sool’ and our wine list will embrace … wines from small producers that demonstrate their regional production methods from around the world,” the owners wrote on social media. “And there will be community — a realm for guests to connect over great food and music, and to get lost in for a few brief moments.”
Sool — Korean fermented and distilled drinks — are a large part of the country’s history and tradition.
Parachute HiFi will offer the owners — and the community — the chance to be a little weird and original and have fun, they said.
“The high-fidelity new and vintage audio equipment will be front and center,” Clark told the Tribune.
Clark has become a music collector and wants the bar to emulate vinyl cafes in Seoul, which has seen a rise in LP bars and cafes in recent years. Many are complete with private listening rooms, themed music and a rotating brunch menu — all with thousands of records to choose from.
Kim and Clark will rework the restaurant but not completely change it up, they told the Tribune.
“There have been so many depressing things in the past four years,” Clark said, according to the Tribune. “And this gives us an opportunity to put the fun back into what we do. Like how we started. With no awards, no pressure and nothing to lose.”
Parachute won a James Beard Award in 2019 and a Michelin star from 2014-2021. It was named the city’s best Korean restaurant by the Reader last year.
The chefs are also looking to bring Parachute back to life in a larger location Downtown, according to a prior news release.
The duo also recently opened Anelya, a Ukrainian restaurant at 3472 N. Elston Ave. just down the street. The restaurant is named after Clark’s late grandmother, who was an immigrant from Ukraine, as are all the cooks in that kitchen.
Anelya takes the place of the couple’s second restaurant, Wherwithall, which closed in early 2023 after four years.
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