Humboldt Park To Get A New Bar and Food Stand Courtesy of EZ Inn Owner

The burgeoning intersection around Humboldt Park’s California and Augusta avenues is slated to get two more interesting, homey, and connected entrants. Isaac Liberman, the owner of Ukrainian Village’s hit reborn neo-neighborhood tavern EZ Inn, closed on two neighboring properties at 1108 and 1110 N. California Ave. after a liquor moratorium was lifted last week, he says. He plans to open a new neighborhood bar and a casual food stand with a large patio that will be intertwined in spring 2018, following zoning, rehab and construction on the spaces. Both spots had been shuttered for eight years.

Liberman plans a dark neighborhood bar for the large space that he describes as “daddy’s basement,” while converting the small freestanding former food stand with a massive yard into a new, bright and airy food stand serving “finger food done well” that will include a nod to the neighborhood and space’s Puerto Rican roots. Bar patrons will be able to grab food from the stand and sit outside, while restaurant patrons will be able to bring their food into the bar. Stay tuned for more information on their names, food, drink, a chef hire, and more.

The spaces are doors north of the new restaurant hub that has transformed the California and Augusta intersection into one of Chicago’s hottest areas for dining and drinking. New spots, including Cafe Marie-Jeanne, Spinning J Bakery and Soda Fountain, and Haywood Tavern have joined longtime favorites The California Clipper and Rootstock in recent years. The area transformation shows no signs of slowing down, so start getting ready for these two additions in the next year or two.