Edgewater all-day favorite The Growling Rabbit shutters
After moving from Rogers Park to Edgewater last year, popular all-day restaurant The Growling Rabbit closed for good yesterday. Ownership said on social media that personal and business issues led to the closure and thanked customers. “For some time there have been a number of things going on in my personal and in my business life that had and have a major impact on The Growling Rabbit. This is not an easy industry on the best of days and I have truly defied all odds by growing this successful of a business over the last 9 years from literally nothing more than an idea - an idea aimed at honoring the most incredible person I have and will ever know, my dad,” the post read. They’re hoping to sell the restaurant.
River North will soon lose a 90210 pop-up
As Beverly Hills: 90210 fans get excited about the possibility of a new TV show with the original cast, Ironside Bar and Galley has announced the end of its Peach Pit After Dark pop-up at its River North bar. Ironside will hold a closing party on Friday, January 11 where they’ll give away prizes. Cocktails and shot combos will be $4 off, costing $8. Look for a replacement pop-up in mid-February, according to a spokesperson. Peach Pit After Dark has been going on since September, a tribute to the diner from the ‘90s TV show.
Pub Royale’s food hall pop-up extended
In more pop-up news, Pub Royale’s run inside Revival Food Hall has been extended. The temporary Loop pop-up of the popular Wicker Park Anglo-Indian restaurant and beer bar will stay open until March 1 rather than closing on December 28 as originally planned. A news release notes its “recent success.”
A beloved Northwest Side gyros spot will reopen soon
Essential gyros spot Central Gyros should reopen on January 3, the Tribune reports, after closing in February due to a fire at a neighboring business. The restaurant has been open for 46 years at 3129 N. Central Avenue in Cragin and was highlighted on Eater Chicago’s map of the best gyros spots in Chicago back in 2014.
The South Side is getting a shared kitchen incubator
A new shared kitchen space is coming to the South Side that could host pop-up restaurants and more, the Chicago Citizen reports. Named the Bronzeville Culinary Kitchen and located at 436 E. 47th Street, the space is another result of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Neighborhood Opportunity Fund that should result in multiple short-term pop-ups in vacant commercial spaces around the city. Ownership hopes to open this one in summer 2019.
McDonald’s Headquarters’ vegan sandwich is making waves
And finally, the availability of the vegan McAloo Tikka sandwich on the menu of McDonald’s West Loop Headquarters’ changing international menu has become so popular that Peta is calling for the fast-food behemoth to add a vegan sandwich to the menu at all U.S. locations. Could McDonald’s oblige?