First (Raw) Look at Melman Bros. Paris Club, Set to Open Mid-January in River North

Grid View

• The bar will seat 70
• The future private dining room
• That brick wall in the back is from the 1870s
• Floor-to-ceiling windows will open on to Hubbard Street
• The entrance will be encased in glass

It may not look like much at the moment, but Paris Club, the forthcoming French eatery from brothers R.J. and Jerrod Melman (Hub 51) will surely be one swank spot when it opens, which is currently scheduled for mid-January, according to R.J. Melman.

The space, which formerly housed Brasserie Jo, will comprise a glass-enclosed atrium entrance, a high-ceilinged bar that'll seat 70, a grand dining room for 120 and a private dining room in the back for another 80 people. The floors and all the tables will be constructed from reclaimed wood and the walls will feature lots of big mirrors on restored exposed brick, some of which was recently discovered to be from when the building was originally built just after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. The bar side will feature a zinc-topped bar and numerous high tops, also made of reclaimed wood.

Custom-made light fixtures, which were described as "long tubes of light," will hang horizontally from the ceiling and natural light will flood the restaurant courtesy of super tall floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire north stretch of the restaurant. All the windows will open in warm weather to look out onto the patio, which will seat another 30 to 40 people.

As for the food, all we still know is that a stellar team composed of Jean Joho, Tim Graham (TRU), Walter Manzke (L.A.'s Bastide) and Doug Psaltis (French Laundry) is working on the menu. Melman remained tight-lipped about any other details. At least for now.
· Brasserie Jo Morphing into Paris Club [~EChi~]