Protest Planned Outside River North Bar After Woman Sues Over Alleged Sexual Assault

Woman sues Hubbard Street bar after alleged sexual assault

A Florida woman alleges in a lawsuit that she was raped while visiting Chicago on October 18 in an alley behind a River North bar where security guards stood about 100 feet away. Attorneys for the woman, only described as in her early 20s, filed a Cook County circuit court lawsuit against El Hefe, a bar on 15 W. Hubbard Street, alleging she was drugged and raped by a man who knew the bar’s staff. A security camera caught the incident and paramedics found the woman unresponsive and rushed her to the hospital, according to the Sun-Times. Police are investigating and looking for the man as El Hefe staff hasn’t helped ID him, according to news reports. Meanwhile, a rape victim advocacy group, Resilience, has organized a protest for Wednesday afternoon outside El Hefe: “We have decided to use this opportunity to stand against an industry that fosters a culture of sexual assault with their refusal to take action,” reads the Facebook event description.

Ed Debevic’s makes its comeback official

Ed Debevic’s, via its Facebook page, confirms it will reopen at a new location. The infamous longtime diner closed and was demolished in 2015 in River North and for the last two years, rumors have swirled that a new Ed’s would open in Streeterville. Ed’s should open sometime in 2020 at 159 E. Ohio Street, according to social media. Will the servers at Ed 2.0, which apparently has a new non-possessive logo, be as surly as the original? Stay tuned.

West Loop’s Michelin-starred sushi restaurant starts guest chef pop-ups

After a two-and-a-half-month stint this past summer at Elizabeth, former Next executive chef Jenner Tomaska is back with another collaborative engagement. From December 2 to 4, Tomaska will pop up at Juno chef BK Park’s eight-month-old and Michelin-starred omakase sushi haunt Mako in the West Loop where the longtime friends will prepare a joint 22-course, $195 (a wine and sake pairing is $95 extra) Japanese tasting menu for two seatings (snag tickets on Tock) daily at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Expect more guest chef pop-ups at Mako later this year from both local and national talent.

Top Chef champion to pop up at Blackbird

In other chef pop-up news, Joe Flamm, the Top Chef champion who left Spiaggia earlier this year to pursue his own restaurant in the West Loop, is joining forces with Blackbird chef Ryan Pfeiffer for a pop-up on December 8. The $225 dinner will have a Croatian theme. That sounds like it will be a bit of a preview for Flamm’s upcoming Croatian-Italian restaurant. Flamm hasn’t released its name.

Instagram gourmet sandwich delivery service makes waves

A back server from West Loop Scandinavian restaurant Elske and a worker at Bang Bang Pie Shop have started a sandwich delivery service where they post photos on their Instagram page on a Sunday and deliver them to customers later in the week. It’s called Have a Good Sandwich, and it’s run by the husband-and-wife-team of Joe Morski and Cheryl Hinman. They’ve been peddling sandwiches since July, according to Chicago. They’ve also hired Emery Ebarle, the sous chef at Kikko, the basement component of West Loop bar Kumiko. Grilled cheese, BLTs, and more are on the menu, as well as gourmet cookies. It’s one of the more unique virtual restaurants in the city.

Founder of iconic Maxwell Street taco stall dies

And finally, the founder of one of Chicago’s most iconic taco stands has died. Basilisa Diaz Galindo founded Rubi’s, one of the city’s essential spots for Mexican food and a fixture within the legendary Maxwell Street Market. Diaz died in October at a North Side hospice at the age of 84, according to the Sun-Times. Her family just shared news of her death. She arrived from Mexico in the ‘70s and used her family’s recipes to open Rubi’s, drawing the attention of Chicago’s best chefs and fans of Mexican cuisine.