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Nisos management won’t exactly need Hercules to tear down any walls to revamp the Greek and Mediterranean restaurant that closed earlier this month.
The West Loop space, only a year old, will only receive minor tweaks as it gets a new name and menu. Nisos Prime, a steakhouse, is shooting for a July opening at 802 W. Randolph Street.
Ownership, also behind the Hampton Social minichain, closed the original iteration of Nisos — one of 2022’s most-hyped openings — coinciding with the departure of Greek chef Avgeria Stepaki. Brad Parker tells the Tribune that the food from Nisos’ first form perhaps was too high-end. Nisos Prime will be more of a restaurant that diners could eat at all the time. Expect “coastal and inland dishes from France, Greece, Italy, and Spain,” according to a news release.
Veteran chef Rick Tramonto, known for his work with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises and at Tru, was recently named Parker’s food & beverage director. Tramanto, a James Beard Award recipient, will develop a steakhouse menu. Expect prime beef, fresh pasta and risotto, soups, salads, and seafood. A news release mentions that bartenders will add European twists on classic steakhouse cocktails, like martinis.
Management will divide the restaurant into three: the upper-level dining room, a bar, and a 2,000-square-foot second-floor lounge that’s rentable for private events.
It didn’t take Parker too much time since the closure to evaluate the space’s future. Steaks, like other comfort foods — see the obsession with pizza and burgers — are safer bets. But the idea to market the restaurant as three different spaces gives the space perceived versatility in an ever-competitive West Loop dining scene. It also provides the area, including Fulton Market, its fifth steakhouse. There’s Swift & Sons from Boka Restaurant Group, BLVD Steakhouse with chef Joe Flamm, El Che Steakhouse & Bar from chef John Manion. DineAmic opened Fioretta in April.
Nisos Prime, 802 W. Randolph Street, scheduled for a July opening.
