Printer’s Row, a pioneering restaurant that was instrumental in the South Loop’s development and a cornerstone of the new American cuisine movement, closed its doors Monday after more than 22 years.
The Printer’s Row neighborhood was desolate in August 1981, when Michael Foley decided to open a restaurant there.
“We were one of only two retailers down here,” Foley recalled in a 1991 interview. “There were no street lamps, and 30 percent of the sidewalks were caved in. People were damn scared to come down here.”
But soon they came in droves, making Printer’s Row one of the city’s most popular and influential restaurants for more than two decades.
Foley declined to explain the reasons for the closing.
“There’s something to say, but not at this time,” he said. “I’ve been excited to work in the American cooking movement, especially for the last 13 years, and I will continue to do that. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but we’ll be around for a long time.”
