— Yugen is the name of the forthcoming Japanese fine dining restaurant in the Grace space. Crain’s also reports that Jeanine Lamadieu (Smyth + The Loyalist, Le Bernardin) is its pastry chef, joining previously-announced chef Mari Katsumura (Gideon Sweet, Entente) in the kitchen, who’s working on a less-expensive menu than Grace that’s homey yet avant garde. An extensive renovation has come to its space to make it lighter and simpler than Grace, including changing the front waiting room into a separate dining area with small bites and late-night cocktails. It’s slated to open in October, so stay tuned for more details.
— Longtime Rogers Park all-day restaurant and community beacon Heartland Cafe is for sale, multiplepublicationsreport. But owner Tom Rosenfeld believes the options he’s giving prospective buyers will keep it in business, although it may relocate.
— Former porn star-turned-outspoken celebrity Mia Khalifa is a huge fan of Smyth. Khalifa visited John Shields’ two-Michelin-starred West Loop restaurant solo for the second time around a week ago, laying on superlative after superlative in an Instagram post.
— The Stephanie Izard-curated Fulton Market Harvest Fest happens for the third time next weekend with a slew of booths from the neighborhood’s many acclaimed restaurants, demos from an impressive chef lineup, plus classes, dinners, and more. Tickets are available here, which start at $30 for general admission.
— A Northwest Side bar is temporarily closed for an unusual reason — it was struck by lightning. The Cabin at Old Irving plans to reopen on September 10.
— And finally, ownership of beloved Wrigleyville dive bar and Malort enthusiastNisei Lounge say they sold the “record single gift card for a bar in Chicago.” The “Nisei Lounge Golden Pigskin Gift Card” allows its purchaser, a Roscoe Village attorney, to dictate the games shown on four TVs, choose which beer will flow from one tap, and have reserved seating for four every Sunday throughout football season for a cool $5,009.00.