NBA Superstar Makes Second Big Uptown Purchase

4501 N. Sheridan

Greek NBA superstar and Milwaukee Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo likes Uptown. He likes Uptown a lot. 

How do we know? He (through his real estate investment corporation 'Ante') has now bought two separate Uptown buildings in two months.

Harmony Apartments, 4513 N. Clark (Loopnet)

First, Antetokounmpo purchased the 56 unit Harmony Apartments, located at 4513 N. Clark, for $21,000,000 in late January. (Longtime readers will recall residents of Dover and local development scolds, including failed aldermanic candidate Marianne Lalonde, opposed the Harmony project vociferously, citing disruption to the neighborhood and blocked views).

At the end of March, Antetokounmpo added to his investment in Uptown, purchasing the Portrait Apartments at 948 W. Sunnyside for $21,000,000. (Readers will recall the opposition to this development, which replaced a nearly abandoned strip mall, came from many quarters, including our current Alderwoman).

So in total, Antetokounmpo has invested a lot - $42,000,000 - in Uptown this year.

Why Uptown? We like what the principals said in discussing the buildings:

"The buyer was drawn to the quality of the asset and the deal reflects strong demand for new-construction, mixed use properties in urban submarkets"

"We saw a neighborhood with real momentum and genuine need for high quality housing and activated street level retail."

Like Giannis, we like Uptown a lot too! There's been a real lull since Alderman Cappleman left office in 2023. Let's get some more new market-rate construction going!

Cake 4 Kids Event At Haymarket Books On April 12

 

Molino Los Hermanos Officially Breaks Cover

Although we've been quiet about it at the owners’ request, we've known since the corporation was formed in November that Norman Fenton, chef/owner of the Michelin starred Cariño, was opening a new restaurant called Molino Los Hermanos at the corner of Leland and Broadway. 

Molino Los Hermanos Logo Courtesy Instagram

Information has leaked out over the last month on Twitter and Reddit, and this morning, Louisa Chu of the Tribune officially shared the news with the world.

The new restaurant, which will span the two spaces formerly occupied by Spoil Me Salon, will have a restaurant and a market under the same roof. The space will feature a 24-seat counter (in a nod to both Cariño and the late Uptown Snack Shop that occupied the space) as well as a six seat booth and other seating (34 total).

4668 N. Broadway

Current State of Construction 

Mr. Fenton is a specialist in Mexican cuisine and he envisions Molino Los Hermanos as a casual and affordable alternative to Cariño. Cariño was 2025's new restaurant of the year in Chicago and recently received its first Michelin star.

In an expansion of Cariño's now famous late night "taco omakase" program, expect tacos to be the feature at the restaurant, although a range of other items will be on the menu, including ceviches, enmoladas, tostadas, quesadillas and more. Frozen margarita slushies will also be available.

Taco at Carino - Courtesy Carino

The market side will sell a range of items from homemade salsas to Mexican beer, but the the market's calling card will be homemade tortillas, which will be made on site using a custom press from Mexico and sold to the public as well as to area restaurants. Expect some exotic offerings, including truffle tortillas, to be on the menu.

Since Cariño is a very expensive restaurant, it's exciting that Molino Los Hermanos will make Mr. Fenton's excellent cooking more accessible to everyone.

Expect a late summer opening.  Restaurant and market hours will start at 11:00 a.m.

Puerto Rican Star Moving to Broadway, to Evolve into First in the Nation Supper Club

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, established restaurants were reeling and struggling to stay afloat, but in the crazy times of 2020-2021, many entrepreneurs were ready to seize an opportunity. 

One of those entrepreneurs was Eric Roldan, who hand built a Puerto Rican restaurant out of love, a ghost kitchen, and then a brick and mortar location, the much beloved Uptown restaurant Marina's Bistro and Rum Bar. 

Critical and financial success led to bigger dreams. Eric shared his vision for a new concept in offline discussions over the last six months, and on Friday he finally let the world know what he was kind enough to share privately: Marina's is evolving into a Puerto Rican supper club. 

We’re proud to officially share that Marina’s Bistro & Rum Bar is evolving into Marina’s Supper Club — the first Puerto Rican supper club in the nation.

What began as a ghost kitchen by Chef Eric Roldan has grown into a beloved Uptown destination, and now into something even greater — a one-of-a-kind dining and cultural experience rooted in Puerto Rican heritage.

Located at 4804 N Broadway, next to the historic Green Mill, Marina’s Supper Club will bring together elevated Puerto Rican cuisine, live music rooted in Puerto Rican rhythms, and a signature rum-forward cocktail program — all within a refined supper club atmosphere.

This next chapter is about more than expansion.

It’s about culture, community, and creating a space that celebrates where we come from.

Opening late summer 2026.

The new Marina's Supper Club will be located at 4804 N. Broadway, where it will join the multi-time Michelin award winning Birreria Zaragoza, Carmela's, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken / Mamo's Burgers as restaurant tenants of the still for sale "Green Mill Gardens" building. 

Per Eric, the reimagined Marina's will feature a classic supper club vibe, "refined dining, curated live music rooted in Puerto Rican rhythms, vibrant rum cockails, and a full bar experience."

Longtime residents will be familiar with the new space, which was formerly Crew Bar & Grill. Crew was very successful in its 13 year run on Broadway, persevering through a transfer in ownership before shutting down in 2017 to make way for a planned jazz/blues club sibling to the Green Mill, Club Della Robbia. After a contractor (allegedly) stole money and failed to complete the buildout, Della Robbia never opened, paving the way for the new Marina's experience. 

If you haven't been able to sample Marina's cuisine, you have limited time to do so before operations shift and focus on the new location. The food is great! Eric is aiming for opening in late summer 2026. 

Trader Joe's Confirmed for Montrose and Clarendon

Logo Courtesy Trader Joe's Website

After years of discussion, a round of speculation in the fall. and months waiting for confirmation, we are pleased to officially confirm that Chicago's newest Trader Joe's is coming to Uptown.

We noted a building permit was issued this morning confirming the buildout was for Trader Joe's. The newest location will be located at 804 W. Montrose in the 811 Uptown building.

The space was originally designed for a Treasure Island location, but the demise of Treasure Island left the space empty. Suburban produce market Peter Rubi had a short run in the space, and Canadian vegan grocer XMarket had two different concepts in the space before closing in 2025.

We have long touted the location as a perfect fit for Trader Joe's and encouraged readers to share the location with Trader Joe's corporate. Trader Joe's looked at a space in Andersonville but abandoned those plans in 2023.

The proximity to DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Lincoln Park and the lakefront bike path, and the dense Lakeview, Uptown, Andersonville and Edgewater communities makes this a great location for expansion.

Given that the 'bones' of a market are already in place, we would expect an opening by summer.

4652 N. Magnolia To Be Razed

4652 N. Magnolia (Google)

A single family home on the 4600 block of Magnolia is about to meet the wrecking ball.

A demolition permit has been filed for the home at 4652 N. Magnolia. The building sold for $740,000 in December. 

The parcel is zoned RT-4, which would allow for a multi-unit building, but what is planned for the lot is unknown at this time. 

We are sad to see another old home in Sheridan Park get demolished. If we have to lose it, we look forward to the added density. 

Uptown Art Walk Call For Artists Now Open

 For more info visit The Uptown Art Walk website!

Chain Chain Chain

Just a little outside of our service area, some interesting new additions coming to the strip mall at Broadway and Berwyn, just north of Foster. You know we love our malls (note: sarcasm).

Flyer From the CRE Listing  

We previously told you about the Panda Express coming to this mall, but we now know from the marketing flyer that a Qdoba, Mattress Firm, and Midwest Express Clinic are coming as well. 

Renovation has been ongoing at the mall for close to two years now, and the Panda Express news was the first indication we had of new tenants. Leasing has been ongoing, and the four new tenants will join Burlington with three additional spaces left to lease.

With Chipotle directly across the street, it will be easy for our readers to do a one to one comparison with Qdoba while trying out some mattresses at the Mattress Firm. Enjoy!

Did You Remember To Spring Forward?

We returned to Daylight Saving Time at 2am Sunday. Are you on time?

One less hour of sleep, always a lot of fun if you have a kid, pet, or partner who's firmly tied to a 24-hour schedule.

On the flip side, it means that evening light will last longer, with sunset taking place at 6:49pm tonight (and 7:15 by the end of the month). It's lovely if you like staying outside in daylight longer.

(photo from the JJ Sedelmaier Productions Collection, used with permission and much appreciation)

Engage!

Taken at the Uptown Fitness Closure in 2020

With the issuance of an $850,000 building permit yesterday, Planet Fitness took a major step towards opening in the former Uptown Fitness space.

While there is no official opening date, expect renovation work to start very soon. Commenters on prior posts have reported employees of the Lakeview location mentioned an opening in July. 

If you would like to sign up, the new club is in pre-sale mode (with discounts) and the sign-up page is here.  The general gym page, with a list of planned amenities, is here.

Move Over Starbucks, Here Comes Yemeni Coffee

It may be hard to believe for newer residents, but once upon a time there were four Starbucks in Uptown, the two in-store "Starbucks" locations at the former Dominick's and Wilson Yard Target, the "Magic Johnson" Starbucks at Wilson and Magnolia, and the Starbucks located prominently at the intersection of Lawrence and Broadway.

We lost the Wilson Starbucks in 2016 for what was supposed to be the "new" location of Baker & Nosh that never came to be. 

In 2017, the Lawrence Starbucks was the location of a tragic gang- and drug-associated shooting, and by 2022, rumored union-busting by Starbucks Corp. led to the closure of the Lawrence and Broadway location.

Over the last 5 years we have had a couple of near misses as large local chains looked at the space but ultimately didn't follow through with plans. 

Courtesy Queen Yemeni Coffee Website

However, in big news for coffee drinkers, we can now confirm Queen Yemeni Coffee is coming soon to the former Starbuck's space. 

The owners opened their first location in Libertyville and have been popular and successful. This location will be the first expansion, and their chosen location makes sense with a prominent location at the corner of a large intersection and close to the recently reopened Red Line station at Lawrence. 

Yemeni coffee is considered a particularly delicious type of coffee and stores are opening all over the place.

We look forward to having a a cup of coffee soon. No word on hours but a menu is here.

Chi City Craft Club Creates Community

Feeling crafty? Want to learn new skills? Meet like-minded folks nearby?

Chi City Craft Club has been around for about a year, holding pop-up events in coffee shops and people's homes, dedicated to creating community and crafts. Now they're about to open in their own space in the McJunkin Building, in the second floor corner unit directly above Lucy's.

They invite interested folks to follow them on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chicitycraftclub) and check out their Linktree (https://linktr.ee/chicitycraftclub_) to see what's coming up and what looks like a good fit.

Coming up this week:

• Speed Friending (and origami!) at Felix, February 25th
• Gouache Painting at Mochinut, February 26th

We look forward to having CCCC right here in the heart of Uptown!

What's Up With Weiss? Who Knows, But It Doesn't Look Good.

Weiss Memorial Hospital (from Weiss Webpage)

Reader JL writes in:

Hey UU. Thanks for all you do. I live across the street and have seen more lights on at Weiss and more cars parked at the entrance. Have you heard anything about the hospital? Will it be reopening any time soon?

Unfortunately, we remain in the dark about Weiss and Resilience Healthcare's plans for the hospital. 

As of today, the hospital website shows the campus is only open for outpatient services, while there are no inpatient or emergency services. However, Alderwoman Clay's December 5 newsletter announced outpatient services were closed as well just after Thanksgiving.

Based on public statements, Weiss' owner was working through the process of appealing the Medicare penalty (pdf link) imposed in summer 2025. 

While increased activity on the campus might be a good sign, there is no telling whether Resilience has a plan to come up with the $27 million dollars Weiss owes the State of Illinois, part of a $69 million debt to the State. Resilience's CEO has told reporters that his company took on $81 million in debt when it acquired Weiss and West Suburban Hospital. 

To compound the situation, Resilience is now tied up in additional legal trouble, as it apparently defaulted on a loan taken to pay for the hospitals in December 2024 and has been sued by multiple companies for failure to pay for services and equipment.

We are obviously hopeful that a hospital some of us at UU have called a neighbor for more than 40 years will come back, but things definitely look grim at this point. 

If any of you know more, feel free to reach out via email.