The Sunday Tribune magazine's cover story about Jerry Kleiner caught my attention, since many of the current and future places are walking distance from me. Also, Drink (now closed, and being transformed by Kleiner) is where D & I had our first date.
Meanwhile, [Jerry Kleiner is] involved in efforts to transform an 1887 meat market building on Fulton into a high-end retail mini-mall, and he's in early discussions about creating a boutique hotel in the Fulton area, which he envisions as evolving into something like New York's trendy meatpacking district.and these are the once and future projects...As if all that weren't enough, he's toying with the idea of bringing an affordable restaurant to an impoverished Chicago neighborhood, and maybe taking his restaurant visions to New York City and suburban Detroit.
- 400-seat Nuevo Latino restaurant
(As yet unnamed)
702 W. Fulton St. (former site of Drink)
Expected opening: March 2005
Estimated startup cost: $5 million
- 100-seat restaurant/lounge/gallery
(As yet unnamed)
311 N. Sangamon St. (former meat-storage facility)
Expected opening: December 2004
Estimated startup cost: $1.9 million
- 165-seat Amer/Asian restaurant/bar
(As yet unnamed)
5201 S. Harper Ct. (property owned by University of Chicago)
Expected opening: spring or summer 2005
Estimated startup cost: under $1 million
- Retail/event/office space
19 E. 21st St. (former electrical powerhouse)
Retail space: Rented to Revival, an architectural artifacts shop
Event space: Chicago Illuminating Co., available for corporate/cultural events
Office: Will serve as Kleiner's headquarters
Opened: mid-2004
Estimated startup cost: over $2 million
have you heard anymore on the hotel kleiner plans on opening?
No, I have not. My (virtual) ears are open, however, and I'll post more if I hear it.