Ex-Maple & Ash Partner Eyeing Italian Pub With Music In River North

After giving the Gold Coast a hip and expensive steakhouse in Maple & Ash, Brian O’Connor is eyeing River North and Italian food next. Over the spring, O’Connor quietly exited Maple & Ash—where he was managing partner—to focus on his own restaurant group. O’Connor’s not ready to share details, but the first of these projects is called Bar Lupo, a neighborhood Italian pub at an undisclosed location in River North.

O’Connor filled an LLC using the restaurant’s name last year. It will feature "simple Italian classics in a vibrant atmosphere with great music and cocktails." Job openings for the new restaurant are popping up all over the Internet and O’Connor is looking for employees of all levels and experience for the launch. The adverts claim the restaurant will open by the end of the summer, which gives them about a month. O’Connor would only reveal that the project is underway.

An official announcement should come shortly, but for now, check out that logo of a wolf rowing a gondola.