A New Orleans-Style Cocktail Lounge Replaces Grange Hall on Randolph Row

Earlier this month, the owners of Grange Hall Burger Bar closed their West Loop restaurant to make room for a new bar and restaurant that focuses on cocktails and small plates. Front Room takes a 1930s New Orleans aesthetic and mixes blues and jazz with French Creole-inspired food. Reservations are live for the spot at 844 W. Randolph Street.

Grange Hall opened in November 2011 before burgers had invaded the West Loop in the form of places like Kuma’s Corner, Au Cheval, and Shake Shake. Owners Angela and Chris Lee, who also own Sushi Dokku and its subterranean bar Booze Box, have tried a few concepts inside the space including Veerasway, the Indian restaurant the launched the careers of the culinary team behind Tikkawala, the new modern Indian restaurant also in the West Loop.

The Lees revamped part of the space last year when they opened Backdoor Saloon, a second-floor speakeasy-meets-old-west-inspired bar. The name should have foreshadowed the Front Room’s arrival.

Front Room’s bar serves 12 signature drinks for $12 a pop. The food features New Orleans influences including an andouille sausage plate, muffuletta, and jambalaya. A tempura soft-shell crab BLT and baked brie with bacon oysters are other highlights on the menu. Weekend brunch is also available.

As Randolph Street has grown the Lees have remained a fixture. See if the Front Room has staying power for them.

Front Room, 844 W. Randolph Street, (312) 491-0844, open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday; 5 p.m. to midnight on Thursday; 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.