Trump Tower’s Two-Michelin-Starred Chicago Restaurant Sixteen To Close

Sixteen, the acclaimed restaurant inside the Trump International Tower and Hotel, is closing after a decade to make room for a new restaurant. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant, which opened in February 2008, will close on April 28. One of the city’s most luxurious restaurants will become accessible with chef Nick Dostal remaining onboard. Expect lower check totals as the decadent spot will now have a burger on its menu to better appeal to the masses.

Dostal described the menu to Chicago as “American New Fine Dining.” He’ll continue to dice French and Italian cuisine with Asian flavors. They’ll add a bar and better integrate the restaurant’s terrace. They’ll also have more affordable wines from reining Jean Banchet best sommelier Parag Lalit.

Changes have been in the works for a while. At first publishing, Chicago avoided the polarizing controversy surrounding the Trump name — especially in Chicago, a city that often finds itself a target for criticism from the president. But it appears the name has affected business with former employees telling Eater Chicago that sales dropped as low as 40 percent during weekdays in recent months. Bias was a topic in the nation’s capital, as the Washington Post recently published an article about how food writers were supposedly ignoring the David Burke-helmed steakhouse inside D.C.’s Trump International Hotel.

Dostal is the restaurant’s third chef, as Thomas Lents departed for Detroit last year. Michelin inspectors were still impressed with Dostal’s cooking and allowed Sixteen to retain its two-star status last year. Sixteen’s last day is April 28, and it’ll offer a greatest hits tasting menu for $220 that include dishes for Lents and former chef Frank Brunacci starting March 28.

It’s another blow to Chicago’s fine dining scene with Grace, 42 Grams, and Tru examples of recent Michelin-starred shutters.

• Sixteen, The Two Michelin Star Restaurant Inside Trump Tower, Is Closing For Reconcepting [Chicago]
• The White House claims Chicago shows gun control doesn’t work. That misses the real problem. [Vox]
• Sixteen Chef Thomas Lents Is Leaving Trump Tower’s Michelin-Starred Restaurant [Eater Chicago]
• Trump hotel managers say food writers are giving the place the cold shoulder [Washington Post]
• Without Grace: The Fall of Chicago’s Three-Michelin Star Restaurant [Eater Chicago]
• Lettuce Entertain You to Close Michelin-Starred Tru After 18 Years [Eater Chicago]
• Two Michelin-Starred 42 Grams Closes After 3 1⁄2 Years [Eater Chicago]