Gideon Sweet, Graham Elliot and Matthias Merges’ West Loop Restaurant, Has Closed

Without warning, Gideon Sweet — the restaurant collaboration between celebrity chef and TV personality Graham Elliot and Matthias Merges’ Folkart Restaurant Management (Mordecai, Old Irving Brewing) — has closed in the West Loop’s restaurant row, a spokesperson confirms. The space at 841 W. Randolph Street formerly housed two iterations of Graham Elliot Bistro.

Elliot is once again left without a restaurant in his hometown as the spokesperson said he’ll focus on TV in LA, including appearing on a new ABC show called Family Food Fight. That’s the new show — adapted from the Australian version — to be hosted by cookbook author Ayesha Curry, wife of NBA star Steph Curry.

While Elliot focuses on West Coast endeavors — he’s already exchanged a Cubs hat for a Dodgers lid — Merges is “working on a multiple new projects,” according to the spokesperson. Merges and Elliot are old friends and worked together Charlie Trotter’s, the legendary fine dining restaurant in Lincoln Park.

Gideon Sweet — named for a type of apple — focused on small plates. When it opened last year, Merges described the spot as a restaurant for diners to make a brief stop and nosh on their ways to enjoying a night along Randolph Street. Merges had long been interested in opening a West Loop restaurant.

The space hasn’t seen sustained success for a while. Graham Elliot Bistro opened in 2012 and then closed briefly and reopened in April 2016 after a light makeover, armed with a new partnership with DMK Restaurants. The bistro closed again in August 2016 and the space remained dormant until Gideon Sweet arrived.

A prime piece of West Loop real estate — with a massive and secluded patio — perhaps is up for grabs as the neighborhood continues to change. Stay tuned for any news on what to expect there next.