It's The End Of An Era: Arrivederci to Anna Maria Pasteria

Despite a brief reopening after a car drove into its dining room and forced a closure this past summer, Anna Maria Pasteria has closed its doors permanently.

On its website, its owner writes:

"Thank You For 35 Wonderful Years!

Dear Valued Customers and Friends,

With a heart full of gratitude and a few bittersweet tears, I write to you today to announce that after 35 wonderful years, Anna Maria Pasteria will be closing its doors. 

I have decided to retire and embark on the next chapter of my life, and while this decision was not made lightly, it feels like the right time for me to step back and cherish the memories we've created together.

​For more than three decades, Anna Maria Pasteria has been more than just a restaurant to me—it has been a gathering place where families, friends, and loved ones have shared countless meals, celebrations, and moments of joy. The familiar faces, the laughter, the conversations shared over plates of homemade pasta—these are memories that I will treasure forever.

​I cannot express how deeply thankful I am for my employees and each of you. Your unwavering support, your loyalty, and your love for our food have meant the world to me. It has been an honor to serve you and be a part of your lives. I have watched many of you grow, celebrated milestones with you, and felt like a part of your families. I am truly humbled by the trust and friendship you’ve shown me.

​To my dedicated staff, past and present, I am endlessly grateful for your hard work and passion. You have been the backbone of Anna Maria Pasteria, and I couldn’t have done this without you. You are family.

​As I move into retirement, I will carry with me the warmth of your kindness and the joy of the memories we’ve made together. I hope you continue to savor the flavors and moments we’ve shared, as they will always remain in my heart.

​From the bottom of my heart, thank you for 35 extraordinary years. I look forward to the future, knowing that these experiences have been some of the most fulfilling of my life.

​Wishing you all good health, happiness, and many more delicious meals ahead.

​With love and gratitude,

Anna Maria Picciolini

Owner, Anna Maria Pasteria"

From Fast Food to Fast Construction

It was just over a year ago that we noticed that the Burger King on Irving Park near Clark had closed, and today there's a nearly completed residential building under construction on the site! 

Demo started early this year, and construction commended shortly after that. Seems like things rarely, occasionally, can move quickly in Chicago.

The new building will be comprised of 31 three- and four-bedroom units, all rentals. There will be no affordable units on site, since it was built "as of right" and no zoning change was requested. According to Yimby, several variances were granted by the 46th Ward alderwoman's office.

There will be no ground-floor retail. Each unit will have a balcony, and there will be a rooftop deck. 

There will be a single-story parking garage on the site as well, for 31 cars (since this is in a TOD district, the requirement for parking spaces was zero. It was the developer's decision to add parking.) The parking garage will have a pergola and two rooftop decks.

We'll keep an eye on the development and post again when we have more information.

The Jewel Gets Polished

If you were wondering about the sudden arrival of shipping containers in the parking lot of Uptown's Jewel (4355 N. Sheridan at Montrose) a few months back (we were), we now know what Jewel has been up to.

As the following photos show, Jewel has been improving the customer experience at one of its crustiest stores. While work isn't yet done, the store is definitely looking a lot better. 

Produce and Meat Sections Are Brighter

Fancy New Coolers in "The Bistro"

  New flooring and taller shelving

New Signage

Kudos to Jewel and thanks to all working on this project overnight for making shopping a much better experience. 

Blessings Of The Animals To Take Place At Area Churches This Week

In honor of St. Francis of Assisi and his compassion for animals, some Christian congregations hold a tradition of Pet Blessings on or around his feast day (October 4th). If you'd like to include your pet in the tradition, here are the times and places in Uptown and the surrounding areas. 

• Queen of Apostles:
• Friday, October 4th, 8:15am, in the courtyard at Queen of Angels School, 4520 N Western
• Friday, October 4th, 6pm, on the front lawn of the Queen of Angels rectory, 2330 W Sunnyside
• St. Mary of the Lake/Our Lady of Lourdes, Buena and Sheridan, Friday, October 4th, 5:30pm, on the SMoL church steps. "All parishioners and neighbors are welcome to bring their pets (leashed) to a special blessing!"
• Mary, Mother of God Parish (three locations): All take place on Saturday, October 5th, at noon. "Bring your dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, snakes, elephants, or any other pet for a blessing by the Conventual Friars of Mary, Mother of God Parish."
• St. Ita School Playground, 5525 N Magnolia
• St. Gregory the Great Courtyard Parking Lot, 5545 N Paulina
• St. Thomas of Canterbury Church Steps, 4827 N Kenmore
• All Saints Episcopal Church, Wilson and Hermitage, will have pet blessings at the 9am and 11am Sunday worship services on Sunday, October 6th. "Celebrate the Feast of St. Francis with your Furry, Feathered, or Scaly Bestie! We’ll celebrate our beloved companions with special treats for humans and animals at Coffee Hour."

Pet blessings are non-denominational and neither you nor your pet need be affiliated with the church at which the blessings are given.

A complete listing of the Archdiocese of Chicago pet blessings can be found here.

Call To Action: Write The Park District About A Safer Location For Homeless Encampments

Earlier this week, Puptown Dog Park (4921 North Clarendon) posted on Facebook to ask for some help from the community.

"Friends,

We recently found several bags of heroin in the space just east of Puptown (very near the pollinator garden). A resident in the encampment informed us that it was brought in last night by another individual.

We have notified the Alder (Clay) and will file a police incident report.

We have communicated with the Alder our increasing concerns about these issues. The encampment has grown, and with it potential threats to dogs and their owners.

The obvious dynamic is that water service attracts more tents. We have suggested to the Alder that establishing a water service at a location away from dog parks, playgrounds and other high use areas might be a wise thing to do. Frankly, it would seem to be a no-brainer.

Please contact the Alder if you are equally concerned about this situation. Many voices are more effective than one voice."

A more direct suggestion:

• Send an email to the Chicago Park District (play@chicagoparkdistrict.com), AND
• Copy 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth in whose district Puptown is located (info@the48thward.org), AND
• Copy 46th Ward Alderwoman Angela Clay, whose district is directly across the street from Puptown (info@46thward.com).

Obviously, moving the encampments to a more remote location with water is a short-term solution. Permanent housing should be the ultimate goal. But in the meantime, we'd love to see the families who use Puptown to be safe, and we encourage you to drop an email to the people who have the power to make it happen.

BET Adds to the Ensemble

Nearly 4 years ago UU HQ received multiple reports that during the debate over the 4511 N. Clark development the developer promised Black Ensemble Theater 'first dibs' on the retail space at the base. 

4513 N. Clark Street

A new sign at the base of the newly christened Harmony Apartments Chicago shows that the developer made good on that promise. We have seen dancers practicing in the space, which is likely a placeholder for the larger BET development to come. See pictures and description of the planned "Free to Be" expansion here.

Things are definitely moving behind the scenes, so expect to hear more after the Dover Street Neighbors Association meeting with Jackie Taylor and BET on September 30. The meeting is scheduled to take place at BET starting 6:30 p.m.

More Changes Coming to Clark as 'La Mexicana Grill' is Arriving Soon

We were sad when Clark Street fixture "Thai on Clark" closed a few years back. Not only was it nice to have another open restaurant on this otherwise quiet strip, but the food was great and the owner (Tanut) was a nice man. 

Future Home of La Mexicana, 4641 N. Clark

When Tanut retired, he sold the building at 4641 N. Clark in 2022 to the owner of La Mexicana Grill, which has a Wrigleyville location across from Metro. We heard through the grapevine that a new restaurant was planned for the location, but have been waiting two years for the next step to occur. 

Needed renovation and demolition work began earlier in September, which confirms the new Uptown location of La Mexicana is now under construction.  

Many of you may be familiar with La Mexicana Grill from pre- or post-Metro show dining. There's some great stuff on the menu and Yelp reviews are good. 

Take a gander at the menu here and keep an eye on the storefront as it undergoes renovation.

You can also follow La Mexicana Grill on Facebook and Instagram.

An Uptowner Gives Back

photo from Instagram

We were so happy to hear from Kevin Ogunjimi a week ago. Ogunjimi, a Senn High School alumni from Uptown who currently plays professional basketball in Europe and Africa, has been overseas for the past six years.

On August 3rd, Kevin returned to his Uptown roots and held a youth basketball clinic at Senn for over 100 attendees, between the ages of 6 and 17. A wonderful time was had by all.

Kevin writes, "I am a Senn Alumni, so it felt good coming back to the school where it all started and also with current Senn players and kids going to Senn.

My mission was just really to give back to the community because I did not have that growing up, especially in the Uptown area. Only way I can join a camp was either have money or be a top player and I didn’t have either. 

So this was my 1st annual camp and want to make this a yearly thing for the youth and making sure everything is free for them all the time."

Congratulations to Kevin for his success and for his generosity, and we will definitely promote the next camp. Stay tuned.

If you'd like to follow Kevin on social media, we're sure he'd love that. His Instagram handle is @bbh_kash.

A Reminder: Bike The Drive Takes Place Sunday Morning

Sunday is the rare morning that motor vehicles are nowhere in sight, and it's all pedal power on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, for the 23rd annual "Bike The Drive."

The ride begins at 6:30am, with riders encouraged to join in by 7:30am at the latest. You can bike anywhere on the Drive until 10:30am, entering at Grant Park, Bryn Mawr, Fullerton, Oakwood, and Museum of Science & Industry. 

The route is bookended by Hollywood Avenue to the north and 57th Street to the south, with riders choosing to do as little or as much of the route as they want.

The Drive will be closed to motor vehicles beginning around 4:30am and will completely reopen to vehicular traffic between 11:30am and noon.

If you want to participate, registration (benefiting the Active Transportation Alliance) is still open. To register, and for more information, check out the Bike The Drive website.

Love It When a Plan Comes Together

 Via Google / Courtesy of Flats Inc / The Draper

Seems like only yesterday that we were posting news of Cedar Street / FLATS purchasing the old Combined Insurance Building at 5050 N. Broadway (it was 2015!), then unveiling a plan for a complete revamp of the streetscape at Winona and Broadway. 

After community meetings and revisions, we got a glimpse of the huge and ambitious site plan in 2018:

Thankfully, what ultimately emerged is even more beautiful than what we saw when the plan was approved and work began back in 2018. The Draper arrived in 2020 and The Sally opened its doors in 2023. Work on the final phase of the project is almost done.

The original buildings ("The Draper")

New buildings seen from the Winona side

The complex seen from Broadway

Looking north towards Winona.

A truly outstanding job, and game changing for that section of Broadway. We love it!

A New Lawrence

On Lawrence, this cute little sign announces Studio W.I.P. to the world. If you haven't seen the amazing graffiti art in the studio or the amazing classes they have there, you should. Studio W.I.P. is at 1047 W. Lawrence.

As longtime Uptowners, the changes to Lawrence between Broadway and Sheridan are almost unbelievable to behold. Thriving small businesses including Fauna Veterinary Care, Studio W.I.P., PopCraft studio, Jim Bachor's art gallery, and Breakfast House have joined (now) veterans Larry's and Heritage Outpost and more to come. 

Keep it going!

TimeLine Theatre Redevelopment Begins

You may have noticed a little slower traffic flow going north on Broadway due to new construction at the long-empty Reebie Warehouse at 5033 N. Broadway. 

We first reported the purchase and planned renovation by TimeLine Theatre Company back in 2018. At the time, the plan was to rehabilitate the entire building and keep the facade, but in a controversial decision, TimeLine decided to eliminate the historic facade of the building. 

$10 million in TIF money is behind the project, which is estimated to cost over $40 million.

TimeLine has been at 615 W. Wellington for the last 25 years, and their move to Uptown will give them a state of the art facility that is exclusively theirs.

Due to permitting and funding delays, construction is about 10 months behind schedule, so expect completion and move in by early 2026. 

Uplift Gets Greener

We told you about the TIF funded renovation at Uptown's Uplift High School back in May, and now we can see the results:

Certainly greener and nicer than the old concrete slab in front! Money well spent, in our opinion.