Johnny’s Grill and Mezcaleria Las Flores to Close Next Week

It’s a double shot of bad news in Logan Square as Johnny’s Grill and neighboring Mezcaleria Las Flores will close next week, according to a Facebook post made on Friday afternoon. Johnny’s opened in August 2015, while Mezcaleria opened in May 2016. The openings meant a revival for the former diner and flower shop spaces on the 2550 block of Kedzie Boulevard. Johnny’s and MLF will close on Friday, November 3.

Johnny’s was Sarah Jordan’s passion project as the former pastry chef at Boka and GT Fish & Oyster turned savory, breathing life into an old diner and using her fine dining experiences. Johnny’s burger quickly became a crowd pleaser and she serves the burger downtown at Revival Food Hall. There’s no word on how the shutter will affect Graze Kitchenette.

Ownership brought on former Frontera beverage director Jay Schroder to create the neighboring bar that eventually became Mezcaleria Las Flores. Schoreder, who worked with Rick Bayless, brought his knowledge mezcal to the bar. It is Eater Chicago’s reigning bar of the year. However, a squabble over a partnership in January led Schroeder to leave the bar he created. He’s since resurfaced in the same neighborhood. He works as the bar lead at Quiote where they rebranded their basement bar to fit Schroder’s talents. Todos Santos last week.

Nick Fochtman

Both venues have seemingly been floundering in recent months with rumors circulating that a shutter announcement could come soon. Before Jordan’s arrival, Johnny’s was a greasy spoon that served the neighborhood since the 1970s. The original iteration closed in 2014, a relic near trendier spots like Lula Cafe and Billy Sunday.

The restaurants’ owners no longer retain the same public relations firm which represented them throughout the restaurants’ operations. They couldn’t be reached. Jordan also didn’t return a message.

Meanwhile fans have exactly a week to visit these two Logan Square venues.

Marc Much