How 12 Food Service Trendsetters Will “Healthify” In 2016
(Via NRN.com) The new year has arrived, and 2016 already promises to be a year driven by consumer demand for nutrient-dense menu choices prepared with clean, locally sourced ingredients and easy-to-use nutrition and allergen information. This growing demand translates...
SVN Releases Andersonville Market Report
Inside Chicago’s Monteverde Restaurant
Sarah Grueneberg is one of several chefs who rose through the ranks to become executive chef of Chicago’s landmark restaurant, Spiaggia. Under her reign, Spiaggia was awarded a Michelin Star for three consecutive years. Grueneberg is now the chef/partner of a new...
Veggie Grill Is Poised To Push Into Middle America
(via rnr.com) - Now 10 years old and with 29 restaurants, the Veggie Grill chain is rethinking its approach to growth. Launched in 2006, Veggie Grill was one of the first concepts with an all-plant-based menu to make a run to become a national chain. The concept has...
The 5 Hottest Bars In Chicago Right Now
1. Annex at GreenRiver Meet GreenRiver’s sexier, leather-clad sister lounge. Browse pics of our visit to the intimate bar. 259 E. Erie St. Website 2. Forbidden Root A brewery and lab for concocting botanical beers and elixirs: peak beer geekism. Take a look at photos...
No-tip Restaurants Gaining Few Fans
There aren’t many issues on which edgy Momofuku chef/owner David Chang and a Koch brothers-funded conservative think tank would see eye-to-eye. But the no-tipping movement is one of them. Both voice concern that changes to waitstaff compensation schemes triggered by...
11 Tips To Keep Food Costs In Line
While the commodities outlook for the industry is projected to remain largely favorable throughout 2016, foodservice operators working on extremely thin profit margins must continue to carefully monitor their food costs. For several years menumakers have struggled...
The Northman, Chicago’s First Cider Bar, Is (Finally) Open
It's almost all good news for Fountainhead Group's new establishment. Chicago's much-anticipated, long-delayed cider bar has finally arrived. Despite some bumps in the road getting here, it's been well received on all fronts. Despite wait times of up to three hours...
This is Where US Residents Are Moving in 2016
Here are my three big predictions in regards to the present and future trends in moving and relocation: 1. While big cities might put states “on the map,” there’s certainly evidence that smaller, cheaper alternatives are proving a draw, even in places that are...
Dusek’s Chef Brings Southern-style Cafeteria Dining To Fulton Market
Cafeteria-style southern cooking is coming to the Fulton Market area. Bruce Finkelman and Craig Golden (Dusek's, Punch House, Tack Room, Thalia Hall, the Promontory) are opening Saint Lou's Assembly today. Next door to the group's new bar, MoneyGun, on Lake and Union...
My Neighbor, My Bartender: Tales From Living Above Chicago’s Nightspots
(chicagotribune.com) - Slurred, drunk conversations late at night. The strong scent of spice. Empty wine bottles tossed, clanging, into the alley below a bedroom window. Those are all nightmarish scenarios imagined around living above a bar or a restaurant. But many...
Crackdown On Valet Parking Has Restaurants Fuming
(www.chicagobusiness.com) - The city issued more citations to valet parking companies in one month of 2016 than it did in 2014 and 2015 combined, a crackdown that's causing headaches for restaurants, hotels and other businesses that rely on valet parking as a courtesy...