Strong Rains Cause Flooding, Closures at Lula, Longman, Telegraph, More

The torrential rains that passed through Chicago overnight caused major flooding at many Chicago restaurants, with those in Logan Square seemingly hit the hardest. A year after closing for a few days due to flooding, Lula Cafe was once again hit, causing it to be closed today for brunch service. Owner Jason Hammel said his full staff of about 50 people were working feverishly all night to clean up the damage and remove water. Hammel said the restaurant will re-open Saturday night at 6 p.m. for dinner.

Down the street, Telegraph, the hot new wine bar from the folks behind Webster's Wine Bar, had knee-deep water in the basement and will remain closed until they're able to clean up. They're hoping they'll open for Sunday dinner service. Longman & Eagle had similar problems. The gastropub is currently closed for brunch and is hoping to be open for Saturday dinner, but that also depends on their ability to get things cleaned. And popular hipster hang The Whistler tweeted that they're closed tonight due to flooding.

All of the Boka Restaurant Group spots—Girl & The Goat, GT Fish & Oyster, Boka and Perennial Virant—got hit with flooding, with GT and PV hit the hardest. Co-owner Kevin Boehm said workers were there until 6 a.m. Saturday cleaning. Fortunately all of those restaurants were able to remove the water and clean up any damage and will be open for dinner service tonight.

If you know of any other restaurants closed due to flooding, please let us know so we can keep people updated.

UPDATE: Longman & Eagle owner Bruce Finkelman said the restaurant will be open for limited service Saturday night starting at 5 and will be open for full service starting with Sunday brunch.

UPDATE 2: The Tribune reports that Hot Doug's is closed after a foot-and-a-half of water rushed into the basement, knocking over a two chest coolers containing a large amount of sausages that had to be tossed out. The water also damaged the restaurant's hot water heater. Owner Doug Sohn said he hopes to reopen on Monday.