Boka to Open a Rooftop Bar, Restaurant, and More Inside Upcoming West Loop Hotel

Boka Restaurant Group, the force behind restaurants including Momotaro, Swift & Sons, and Girl & the Goat, is carving out more territory in the West Loop. The acclaimed group continues to roll even as they prepare to open restaurants in the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park. Boka co-founder Rob Katz confirmed plans that they’ll open a restaurant, a bar, and a rooftop bar inside The Hoxton, an upcoming 12-story hotel at Green and Lake streets. The 175-room hotel, will also feature a meeting/events space and a rooftop pool at 200-208 N. Green St.

The unnamed projects should open in the first quarter of 2019, and Katz isn’t ready to share all the details just yet. Katz and Boka co-founder Kevin Boehm visited Hoxton hotels in London and Amsterdam, concluding that the Hoxton’s culture is a good mesh with Boka’s. The British-based company has a trio of hotels in Europe—two in London—but also plan to open hotels in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.

“We love the team, we love their style, and we feel like we’re going to be great fit,” Katz said.

Boka’s been working on the restaurant for about a year and a half. Katz called the project a personal one for Boka, noting their huge neighborhood presence, one that will be bolstered when they open The Bellemore with ex-Bohemian House Jimmy Papadopoulos. Katz counted five Boka project in development: The Bellemore, Somerset, The Kennison, and The Hoxton. No, he wouldn’t spill any details on the fifth project and only teased that an announcement would be made soon.

So the group is bracing for a cluster of openings at once. It’s not exactly how they drew up their plans, but it’s better than having nothing to do. “Sometimes restaurants get delayed, sometimes they get pushed up; it’s never ideal,” Katz said. “We’re very, very busy right now.” More to come.