Smoke Daddy Owner to Open Wicker Park’s Second Brewpub with Finch Beer

Wicker Park’s second brewpub is slated to open later this month along Division Street. The Perch is a collaboration between 4 Star Restaurant Group (Smoke Daddy, Ella Ellie, Tuco & Blondie), and Finch Beer Co. They’re taking over the former Boundary space which lasted 12 years before closing at 1932 W. Division Street.

The Perch follows Piece Pizza as the second brewery in the neighborhood. They’ll have 12 draft lines for Finch beer. 4 Star’s Doug Dunlay says one handle might be reserved for a cider. 4 Star is one of Chicago’s most successful restaurant groups. Smoke Daddy barbecue, just down the street from the Perch, has been in the neighborhood for 26 years.

4 Star Restaurant Group [Official Rendering]

Dunlay and Finch’s Jamie Lisac attended college together at University of Missouri. This won’t be Finch’s first brewpub. They teamed up briefly with chef Matthias Merges to open the Finch Kitchen in Albany Park. That space is now Twisted Hippo. The Perch will use a 12-barrel brewing system. Dunlay describes it as a microbrewery. They’ll also sell crowlers to go.

4 Star chef Dan Harris will helm the kitchen. While the focus won’t be barbecue, meats and vegetables will be cooked over wood using grills and rotisseries. Sample items include steak with buttermilk béarnaise and slow-roasted cauliflower. They’ll also have bar snacks like maple-glazed peanut with candied bacon and cheese curds with giardiniera aioli. Salads and burgers round out the menu. As with 4 Star tradition, kids will eat free during certain times of the day.

Dunlay says 4 Star spent $1.5 million on renovating the space which has been gutted since the Boundary closed. They’ve added four skylights to brighten the former sports bar. There’s a main dining space, a lounge, and a sidewalk patio. Under normal circumstances, the interior could hold 135 and the sidewalk patio holds 58. But with the pandemic, these aren’t normal conditions.

“This is going to be the strangest opening that we’ve ever had,” Dunlay says.

Ashok Selvam/Eater Chicago

There’s an additional 40-seat patio in the garden space next door. The building’s landlord is Davoud Rassouli Vossough, an artist. He and wife Tara run Davara Fine Art out of the coachhouse next to the Perch. Vossough has agreed to allow 4 Star to use the enclosed outdoor garden space to increase the restaurant’s capacity during the pandemic. It’s a quirky space surrounded by Vossough’s art, a nice bonus for Dunlay and 4 Star.

Stay tuned for updates. The Perch is perched to debut in late July or early August.

The Perch, 1932 W. Division Street, planned to open on August 4..