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The Abbey Pub finally reopening after fire with new name and ownership
Nearly four years after a fire shuttered it, 35-year-old Irving Park bar and live music venue the Abbey Pub is finally coming back soon — but with a slightly different name and new ownership. The new spot at the same address (3420 W. Grace Street), named the Chicago Abbey, will be similar to the original but modernized, Block Club reports, and is slated to open later this year. But the news also comes amidst a lawsuit — the bar’s longtime previous owners are suing their landlord, alleging they were forced to vacate over a disagreement about funding to rebuild and reopen it.
A longtime River North sushi spot closes off the Mag Mile
A longtime Japanese and sushi restaurant in River North is no more. Oysy Sushi, which had been open for more than a decade at 50 E. Grand Avenue, quietly closed for good at the end of June. It was very popular with Mag Mile tourists before many larger names opened in the area.
Many popular Chicago restaurants expanding to other states
Some of Chicago’s top spots opening locations in other states this summer is becoming a trend. On the heels of Parson’s Chicken & Fish opening in Nashville on August 7 and Acadia opening a casual spot in Maine in late June, here are four more expansions: Maple & Ash opens in Arizona tomorrow, Billy Sunday opens imminently in a Charlotte food hall, Forbidden Root plans to open a Columbus, Ohio location in November, and Le Colonial, which also has locations in NYC, San Francisco, and Houston, opened last week in Atlanta.
Chicago’s patio boom is resulting in a sharp rise in complaints
And finally, as Chicago’s patio popularity booms the number of complaints about sidewalk cafes are rising sharply. It’s still only August yet complaints to the city about sidewalk patios — 138 — are already 32 more than last year, the Sun-Times reports. Most of the complaints are about patios taking up more size than they should and the blocking of pedestrian access.
