🍽 ON THE PLATE
Bad Butter has its Cortland Street license. The cult pastry shop — which has spent years running as a weekly pop-up out of the Emily Hotel in the West Loop — finally got its retail food license for 1655 W. Cortland St. on April 22, clearing the last regulatory step for Chef Daniel Koester's long-promised brick-and-mortar. Sourdough, croissants, the pain suisse that made them famous, lemon-lavender cruffins, basil-blackberry kouign amann. No firm opening date posted yet, but the pop-up schedule is still running out of the Emily in the meantime. Expect hours to be Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
All Well is open in the West Loop. Oriole's Noah Sandoval and chef-partner Larry Feldmeier soft-launched their long-anticipated second restaurant at 111 N. Carpenter St. on April 22 — exactly a decade after Oriole earned its first Michelin stars. The room is split: a 50-seat dining salon running a five-course prix fixe, plus a separate bar program with late-night à la carte snacks and sandwiches, agnolotti, and cocktails like a Fig Leaf Boulevardier with Japanese whiskey and fig leaf liqueur. Reservations on Tock. This is the restaurant opening of the spring.
Schneider Deli is now officially pouring. The Lincoln Park spinoff at 1733 N. Halsted opened April 1 and has been a rolling meet-and-greet for the neighborhood ever since — pastrami sandwiches, hand-cured fish, latkes, the whole Jake-and-Ariel playbook plus a Metropolis coffee program. As of last week, the city also issued the deli's consumption-on-premises license, which means beer, wine, seltzers, and cocktails are now on the table too. The Ohio House original seats about 20; this one seats 41 and has room to linger.
📅 MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Whole Foods is coming to Wicker Park. It was confirmed April 20 that Amazon is moving the grocery chain into the long-vacant former CVS at 1200 N. Ashland Ave., inside the landmarked Home Bank and Trust Company building at the Polish Triangle. Interior demolition permits have been issued; no opening date yet. Reports describe it as a "Daily Market" — a smaller-format store focused on grab-and-go and local products. Less than 24 hours later, a second Whole Foods was announced for 827 W. Belmont Ave. in Lakeview, in the Connection building.
🌿 GET OUTSIDE
The Alley Cat opened its doors on Division. The Paulie Gee's pizza team's new dive bar — from Derrick Tung, William Ravert, and Tony Dezutter's new Tung & Cheek group — has been under construction all winter in the old Takito Kitchen space at 2013 W. Division St. Expect eight cocktails on draft, a "beer-and-shot" menu, bar snacks like pork skewers and potato wedges with green curry aioli, and a room that leans into 1920s-era Chicago with a salvaged Chopin Theatre chandelier. Ukrainian Village/West Town has wanted a proper neighborhood dive for years — this is the one.
QUICK HITS
Hooley Market is getting its final build at 2947 N. Broadway in East Lakeview. Artisan international goods shop on the Broadway corridor; retail food license was issued April 20.
Friends & Neighbors, a women-owned wine bar, is targeting a late-summer open in Bucktown.
410 N. Elizabeth secured $102 million in financing this week. Urbanize reports the Fulton Market residential development is now funded and moving into construction.
See you next Friday — The 60614