Prolific Restaurant Consulting Firm Taking Over Streeterville’s Robert’s Pizza Space

Robert’s Pizza Co. isn’t coming back to Streeterville, but the neighborhood can expect a new restaurant soon from a man with a multitude of experience at many Chicago hotspot restaurants. Hats Off Hospitality, a restaurant consulting company run by longtime local industry veteran Felipe Ospina, is taking over the space for its first own restaurant, the Tribune reports and Ospina confirms, as the legal dispute that shuttered the popular pizza restaurant on June 8 heats up.

Hats Off Hospitality has consulted on many notable Chicago restaurants, including Imperial Lamian and Latinicity. Ospina himself has helped run multiple hotspots in Chicago — Mercadito, Untitled, and Roka Akor among them.

The type of restaurant Ospina will open in Streeterville is to be determined. “We don’t have a specific concept yet — I’m taking my time.” Ospina says. “We are planning to keep consulting and also create our own places.” A “now hiring” sign has appeared in the window, so stay tuned for more information on what he’ll open in Streeterville and when.

Meanwhile, the legal saga that led to the end of Robert’s is far from over. Some details of the mysterious lawsuit between Robert’s owner Robert Garvey and his partner Shawn DeAmicis, who co-owned the space’s previous pizza restaurant Flour & Stone, are now available in the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s electronic records. Garvey has hit DeAmicis and his partners with a $50,000 suit that alleges a contract complaint, according to the lawsuit that was originally filed on June 16. Neither party could be reached for comment by press time.

However the case is resolved, local eaters will get a new restaurant soon to replace Robert’s. More details to come soon.