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Iliana Regan Is ‘90-Percent Certain’ Kitsune Will Open on Jan. 20

Cross those fingers for North Center’s new Japanese hotspot

Kitsune should actually open in January in North Center.
Ashok Selvam
Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

Kitsune, Iliana Regan’s (Elizabeth) Japanese restaurant and regular member of Eater Chicago’s most-anticipated restaurants list—appearing on many, many, many seasons—has a new target opening date. Regan said she’s “90-percent certain” that they’ll start serving on Jan. 20. The windows at 4229 N. Lincoln Ave. remained papered up, but Regan alerted diners on Thursday morning via her newsletter that the wait shouldn’t be much longer. “I can’t say for certain but we passed everything and we’re just waiting on paperwork to come through,” she said this morning.

Inside Kitsune, Iliana Regan’s new restaurant.
Kitsune

The izakaya will take walk-ins and reservations and they’ll try to add brunch service in February or April. Regan has been touting Kitsune, featuring Japanese flavors melded with Midwestern ingredients, since December 2015.

“We are 90% certain our Kitsune open date will be January 20th,” the newsletter read. “As soon as we are 100% certain we will send out links to our reservation system and open tables online.”

Kitsune features a cartoonish fox on its awning, as the restaurant’s name is the Japanese word for “fox.” They’ve posted sample menus online for the past few months. Stay tuned.

Kitsune may serve chawanmushi—savory egg custard—like this.
Kitsune

Kitsune

4229 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60618