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Chicago’s largest restaurant group, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, is about to unleash a massive project along the Chicago River which will house two restaurants that should open next year. A two-level restaurant, RPM On The Water, will feature a 100-seat riverside patio at 321 N. Clark Street. The second restaurant doesn’t have a name, but would be more like a casual cafe or wine bar and take over the Bridge House Tavern space, as the last tenant was pushed out in favor of LEYE, as previously reported.
Overall, the projects take up 35,000 square feet. The Rockwell Group, a firm that has designed Hotel EMC2 downtown and celebrity hangout Nobu in New York and Miami, is handling design duties for LEYE.
LEYE partner Doug Psaltis is the executive chef for both projects. Construction hasn’t started yet. The $50 million project also includes a 300-person private event space. LEYE President R.J. Melman told the Tribune that the restaurants will be accessible along the Riverwalk.
RPM On The Water represents the expansion of the RPM brand co-founded by Bill and Giuliana Rancic. Psaltis’s responsibilities includes overseeing two RPM-branded River North restaurants, RPM Italian and RPM Steak. ”On The Water” not only refers to the proximity to the river, but supposedly a seafood focus. The second restaurant looks to be a new concept rather than a new location of one LEYE’s several brands.
The project represents the largest along the river in nearly five decades, according to the Tribune. LEYE is eyeing a summer 2019 opening, so keep it here for updates.
