Welcome Piacere Mio to 1303 W. Wilson!

Courtesy Piacere Mio Facebook Page

We have been working on a new restaurant coming to 1303 W. Wilson since we first heard about a new tenant in March, and this afternoon, courtesy of reader RJM and Twitter user minc798, we finally know what's coming to the space. 

Soon, the first Chicago location of Forest Park based Piacere Mio will occupy the former Baker & Nosh / Longacre/ Floreen's space spanning from 1303 to 1307 West Wilson. Architect Joel Berman (Big Jones) is handling the interior.

Courtesy Piacere Mio website

We have been watching construction on the space for a couple of months. A kitchen is currently being built in the west portion of the space (essentially where the bakery portion of Baker & Nosh was located), with a bar and tables occupying the eastern portion. 

Piacere Mio is a relatively new restaurant but comes from deep roots in Italian cooking. Co-owner and head chef Jose Marquez was for many years the head chef at former Forest Park Italian stalwart Gaetano’s.

Expect handmade pastas, wagyu beef meatballs, some delicious looking desserts, and other treats. Menu at the Piacere Mio link above. We are especially looking forward to trying the coconut limoncello!

Reviews of the Piacere Mio Forest Park location and the former restaurant look incredibly promising.

With construction and permitting factored in, we don't expect the restaurant to be open until late summer at earliest, but we are looking forward to a long run in the space for Jose and Francisco. We will for sure be visiting the patio as soon as weather allows! 

Dead Flo's?

Dear Flo's, Andy Kalish's latest attempt at a restaurant in the old Ka'lish space appears to be no more. 

Closure appeared to be a sad inevitability once operations became spotty over the last couple of months, but we were hopeful this new restaurant would survive. The food was good!

Our team first got wind of changes a couple of weeks ago when a tipster sent a photo of a handwritten sign taped to the Dear Flo's window to our inbox.

It's unclear whether the restaurant reopened last weekend after two weekends closed for "Summer Break." However, a reader sent a tip yesterday evening that the restaurant appeared empty. 

We asked a different reader/tipster to send photos depicting the current state of the restaurant space. Those photos appear to confirm the observation that the space was emptied out. 

Both readers report art has been removed from the walls and today's tipster says the refrigerator was completely cleaned out. 

Over on the Instagram page, it appears the hours section has been replaced with "Closed."

Andy and Gina can cook, there is no doubt about that. Their food was great, no matter what they tried to do, but the hours at each of the different restaurants were always wonky. Judging on comments to this blog and Facebook, they lost a lot of goodwill with the community over the last 9 years, with frustration over hours, different concepts, and a general lack of sticking with anything for very long. Dear Flo's was the 8th different concept in the last 9 years in three highly trafficked and visible retail spaces on Wilson. 

Some will celebrate the apparent loss of Dear Flo's, but we always want to see small businesses succeed. We wish Gina and Andy the best and hopefully they will be able to cook for us again in the future.

In other news, there is a new restaurant coming to the 1303 W. Wilson space formerly occupied by Baker & Nosh, Longacre, L/A Mex and Floreen's. The new restaurant is NOT affiliated with the Kalish family. More soon!

Renovated Clarendon Park Fieldhouse to Reopen (Finally!) on July 7th

groundbreaking on renovations, 9/13/2022

The fieldhouse as it looks today

It's been a long time coming, but the newly improved Clarendon Park Fieldhouse is about to become available to the community again!

Those of us who've been around a while remember the leaky roof (and resulting puddles on the floor in the rec room), the lack of ADA compliance that made the building inaccessible to some members of the community, the inadequate electrical system that made air conditioning ... er, problematic, the constantly backed-up plumbing issues, etc., etc.

But those days are behind us.

Groundbreaking on the renovations took place in September 2022, and the building has been closed to the public and undergoing repairs ever since.

The Fieldhouse was built in 1916 as a bath house for the Clarendon Municipal Beach; at that time, Lake Michigan was directly east of the building. In the 1930s, after Lake Shore Drive was built on landfill, sports fields were built on the site of the former beach.

Time took its toll:

• In 1972, a renovation was done that eliminated the building's original towers.
• In 2010, then-46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller created the Montrose-Clarendon TIF, partially to fund renovation on the fieldhouse.
• In 2015, Preservation Chicago included it on a list of most endangered buildings, due to its deterioration. 
• Then-46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman oversaw a lengthy community input process on how to best replace/preserve the fieldhouse. Partial renovations in two phases were chosen, as opposed to a full remodel, which would have included restoring architectural details like decorative towers; a new building on the existing site; and a new building on a new site.
• Because the TIF won't be fully funded until 2034 (and the building was in such bad shape that the renovations would cost quite a bit more with further deterioration), a complicated funding plan was put in place where $6.9million came from the Montrose-Clarendon TIF, $4.6million came from Montrose Clarendon Partners LLC (developers of the 811 Uptown apartment complex), and the remainder was provided by the Chicago Park District.

We are so grateful to everyone who put in the time and efforts to see this project through its long renovation process, and who helped to ensure that a part of "old Uptown" survives and will be beneficial to the community well into its second century of existence.

And we also want to emphasize the importance of retired Alderman Cappleman's efforts to see this project through. From steering the Park District away from initial demolition plans to spearheading efforts to identify and source funds for renovation, Alderman Cappleman's hard work was critical to seeing this process through. 

We found it very interesting that current Alderwoman Clay's announcement of the impending opening in her newsletter made no mention whatsoever of her predecessor's role, not even a thank you. Not surprising, of course, but disappointing nevertheless.

Setting politics aside, we can't wait to see all the improvements, and especially look forward to seeing the Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club set-up in its new enhanced space.

Ribbon cutting is on Monday, July 7th, at 11am.

Turkish Döner Now Open At 1007 W. Argyle

Delicious food offerings at Turkish Döner

Courtesy of Reader SA, word arrived this afternoon that Turkish Döner is open!

Per our reader: "Swung by Turkish Doner to see if they were open. They were! Got a picture of the menu for you guys. The very nice folks inside said they are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m."

So there you have it! Turkish Döner is at 1007 W. Argyle.

Döner tonight???

Red/Purple Modernization Project Nearly Complete, To Open On July 20th

We've been posting about this for years! We've been dodging construction bypasses for years! And now we can finally see, and ride, the finished product. 

ADA compliance (finally!) New station houses! Smoother rides! Wider platforms! Covered platforms!

We. Are. Thrilled.

CTA announced in an email today:

"In 2020, we began the ambitious and historic journey to modernize our 100-year-old stations and elevated tracks to improve service for our customers, invest in your community and generate inclusive economic growth across our city. 

Today, we are thrilled to announce that the brand-new Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stations will open on Sunday, July 20, 2025! 

These new stations are designed to serve you better, with modern amenities including full ADA accessibility, escalators, elevators, wider platforms, enhanced lighting and security and real-time travel information displays. And with the newly rebuilt Red Line elevated track now in service, you’ll experience smoother, faster and more reliable rail service.

Read more about the new stations in our press release

This is more than a station opening — it’s a celebration of progress, community and what we’ve built together. Thank you for your patience and support as we’ve worked to modernize your Red and Purple lines.

We got there together."

Saddle & Cycle Club Fireworks Show To Take Place On July 4th

                                  
We're so lucky to have a professional fireworks display right in our neighborhood.

The Saddle & Cycle Club, at Foster and Marine, will be holding its annual fireworks show at dusk (start time has been anytime between 8:45pm and 9:30pm in past years) on Friday, July 4th.

While only members of the club and their guests may view the show from inside the club grounds, the fireworks can easily be seen from the surrounding areas. 

You can see them from Kathy Osterman Beach, Foster Avenue Beach, Margate Park, and from friends' homes along Foster Avenue and Marine Drive (there's still time to wangle an invitation!).

To our south, Navy Pier will be holding fireworks shows on Wednesday, July 2nd (9pm) and Saturday, July 5th (10pm).

UU Note: Want to know more about our very low-key 130-year-old neighbor? Uptown Update did a "Flashback Friday" feature about the Saddle & Cycle Club a few years ago.

Photo credit: Perri Smith. 2021 Saddle & Cycle show.

Happy Wash Demo Begins, Making Way For 5 Story Residential

Demolition underway at Wilson & Dover (photo by Reader JR)

We first heard of a proposal to replace the Happy Wash Building at Wilson & Dover back in November 2019. The proposal was for an attractive 4 story project that required a zoning change.  That proposal, along with a second proposal, were rejected by the local block club, Dover Street Neighbors. 

A new, taller proposal emerged that did not require a zoning change. The current project is being built without a zoning change, only variances.

We knew demolition was inevitable, and readers sent photos earlier today showing the demolition has started. 

Although we will miss this lovely old building, we were happy that the decorative elements were preserved before demolition. Most importantly, we are happy that an empty building is being replaced with 5 stories worth of apartments added to a bustling corner of Sheridan Park.

Due to no zoning change being approved with the first proposal and no zoning change requested with the latest project, no on or off-site affordable will be required. 

Looking south from Wilson through the demo site, toward the "workforce housing" that the local
block club classifies as "affordable."

Green Mill Gardens Building Looking for a New Owner

The property at 4800-4810 N. Broadway just came on the market yesterday. Link to the agent's PDF here, no price listed, sorry.

Courtesy VHT/Loopnet

The 1914 building hasn't changed hands in long long long time, and this is a golden opportunity for the right buyer. It was part of the historic Green Mill Gardens complex (great history here, thank you Robert Loerzel) and has those Al Capone tunnels.

The lucky buyer will get a building home to a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant (Birreria Zaragoza), an internationally known jazz icon (The Green Mill) and another stalwart of the Chicago music scene (Le Nocturne). 

Additional tenants include the delicious taqueria Carmela's and Rupee Wine and Spirits. There is also the potential for another music club and another potential restaurant.   

Here's hoping it finds the right buyer!

Annual Pilgrimage Of Monks Through Uptown

photo by Bill Biederman

Photographer Bill Biederman sends us a beautiful photo of this year's procession of monks through Uptown as they cross Dover & Wilson. More on the previous processions here. 

Lawrence Food & Deli Now Open Across from Aragon

1113 W. Lawrence (TL)

We have been watching slow progress at the former Kinetic Playground space at 1113 W. Lawrence for many months now. 

We are happy to report that Lawrence Food & Deli (formerly "All Food & Deli") is now open for business across from the Aragon Ballroom.

A reader stopped by and sent us an email with a glowing review, mentioning the variety of food and household items available for purchase, along with a variety of freshly made subs and breakfast sandwiches (see menu below). They plan to have a website and social media presence in a few weeks so keep an eye out. 

The deli's hours are Monday-Thursday 7:00AM-12:00PM, Friday 7:00AM-2:00AM, Saturday 8:00AM-2:00AM and Sunday 9:00AM-9:00PM. 

Welcome to the neighborhood!

The sub selection at Lawrence Food & Deli (TL)

Argyle's Kim Huot to Close

A sign in the window announces longtime Argyle jewelry and gift store Kim Huot is closing its doors. 

Image courtesy reader "TL"

The business has been a fixture on Argyle (1046 W. Argyle) for as long as we can remember. There has been a ton of change on Argyle of late, and this is yet another significant reshuffling of the existing business base. We are waiting on the planned move of Kim Huot's neighbor, Foremost Liquors, sometime this summer. 

Empanadas to Kebabs

Image Courtesy of Reader "TL"

We first heard about a new Turkish doner restaurant coming to the old Don Pablo's space back in late January, and new signage confirms "Turkish Doner" is close to opening (Eds: possibly "Turkish Doner Cafe" from a tipster). 

We loved Don Pablo's empanadas and miss the business, but doner is a Turkish specialty and Chicago has been lacking good doner spots for seemingly forever. 

For those who have traveled Europe, particularly Germany, doner is late night food. No indication yet of hours in the new spot.

We are excited to try the offerings at the new restaurant, which adds even more diversity to the Argyle corridor. Menu items will include doner, fresh pide, shawarma, iskender kebab and other "traditional Turkish dishes."

                            

Image Courtesy of Reader "TL"

Turkish Doner will be at 1007 W. Argyle. We presume it's in the licensing process since there is no license as of yet. 

Explore the History of the Uptown Theatre By Buying This Book

James "Andy" Pierce and Robert Loerzel's The Uptown: Chicago's Endangered Movie Place, is hitting the big time, as the book is now available on Barnes and Noble Dot Com. 

If you are frugal but want to support the authors' amazing work, the book is $10 cheaper from the publisher's site.