Your weekly guide to what just opened, what’s coming soon and what’s no longer:
When designing The Tankard, Wicker Park’s newest bar, co-owner Patrick Wrona thought about the kind of place he and friends would enjoy.
The result is a laid-back bar somewhere between dive and upscale, he says. (Think cheese curds instead of mozzarella sticks.) There will be eight televisions, but it’s not a sports bar.
“It’s a comfortable place that you can get good food,” Wrona says. “Great for a date but you can also belly up and watch a Cubs game.”
The Tankard is operating out of the old Lucky’s Sandwich Co. location, where Wrona says he and his partners, Robert Colon and Philicia Mizel, were regulars. They’ve created more of a bar than a restaurant, but Wrona says he is excited about the food on offer — which includes a playful tater tot menu featuring steak and tots, Buffalo tots, bacon-wrapped tots and totchos (nachos but made with tater tots instead of chips).
The Tankard soft-opened Aug. 4, with a grand opening set for Aug.11, Wrona says. 1635 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-549-0665.
Goddess and The Baker, the fast-casual cafe from Debra Sharpe’s Goddess Restaurant Group (also behind The Goddess and Grocer), will open another location later this month at the corner of LaSalle Street and Wacker Drive. This outpost will include a menu of toasts, with toppings like sesame semolina charred eggplant, roasted veggie and hummus, and of course, avocado.
Partner Tamar Mizrahi, who is in charge of the cafe’s design, says diners will find it similar to the other two locations: clean and warm. There will be seating for 60 and, by next summer, a 40-seat patio.
The new location will also be the only store in the country to feature cold-brew teas and tonics from Milwaukee-based Rishi Tea. 225 N. LaSalle St., www.goddessandthebaker.com
Other openings:
Chicken chain Nando’s Peri-Peri opens a new location Sunday, Aug. 7, in Streeterville. All sales from opening day will be donated to help renovate the neighborhood’s Seneca Park and Eli M. Schulman Playground. 227 E. Ontario St., www.nandosperiperi.com
The Halal Guys, a chain known for chicken-and-rice bowls, gyros and more, will open its second Loop location in September, franchisee partner Steven Chong wrote in an email. 172 N. Wabash Ave., www.thehalalguys.com
On the heels of setting up shop inside the new Lincoln Park Target, Canadian chain Freshii opened another new location in the West Loop, this one at the Madison at Racine apartment development, according to a release. 1164 W. Madison St., 312-989-3836, www.freshii.com
Upcoming West Loop wine bar The Lunatic, The Lover & The Poet (736 W. Randolph St.) will preview small plates and cocktails at CH Distillery’s Aug. 9 Bartender Series event (564 W. Randolph St., 312-707-8780). Try lamb meatballs, the Charles Gibson (CH London Dry Gin, pickled onion) and more. As for when the wine bar itself is opening, no word yet.
In case you missed it:
Art Smith has opened Blue Door Kitchen & Garden in the former Table Fifty-Two space. Early reports: lovely.
Amy Morton dishes on the opening date of The Barn, her new Evanston restaurant that won’t do the whole shared plates thing.
Hot newcomer El Che Bar is up and running in the West Loop. See the full menu here.
Other hot newcomer The Loyalist, also in the West Loop, wants you to eat its cheeseburger.
The chef from Batter & Berries, where waits for brunch regularly stretch two hours or more, is launching something new.
Black Chicago Eats week continues through Aug. 12.
West Loop mainstay Carnivale is hitting the road with a food truck.
Critic Phil Vettel dispels some rumors about Sabatino’s.
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of The Halal Guys franchisee partner Steven Chong. The Tribune regrets the error.
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