Thursday, July 14, 2011

Enrico's Italian Restaurant Coming to Old Grace O'Malley's Space?

A reader writes:

Good Afternoon,

While walking my dog this morning, I noticed a man with a tape measure in front of Grace O'Malley's old location. Being the nosy neighbor I am, I walked across the street and asked if something new was coming.

He said it was going to be an Italian restaurant called "Enrico's". I didn't want to pry too much.

While I was hoping for another Irish pub (albeit one with better service than Grace's), I am happy to see another sign of life on our street.

Well thanks for prying a little, because we're happy to hear this.

It's been awhile since we heard anything about this space (March'ish time frame), but hopefully this is true and we get another option for this area. If we had our druthers it would be similar concept/quality to the Pasta Bowl up in Lincoln Park. Not the best Italian in the world, but affordable and pretty tasty.

With the new restaurant Waffles opening next door and Sanctuary on Michigan opening as well, the retail on the 1400 block of Michigan is starting to take shape nicely.

(Hat tip: JY!)

15 comments:

ALS said...

There's a great Italian restaurant called Enrico's in Frankfort, IL (far southwest suburb). It has been around for over 30 years. Although we have plenty of pizza places, their thin crust is great! If it's the same family/restaurant that is expanding, the South Loop would be lucky!

Anonymous said...

http://www.enricositalian.com/index.asp

could this be the place?

Anonymous said...

I never understood why an Irish Pub would shut down in February? That's like a retail store closing before Thanksgiving. The St. Patrick's Day (week) profits carry most Irish pubs through the winter.
Now an Italian restaurant??? I can't say I'm very excited about this...

Anonymous said...

I would LOVE a decent non-deep dish Pizza option right in the neighborhood!

Anonymous said...

If Enrico's is any good, will this spell the end for A Cappella? I would think so, doesn't seem to do much business at all.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 10:58

How could it? A'Cappella has "The Best Pizza in Chicago"!

Anonymous said...

Any word on when Scout is opening? Would love to hear something about this place!

Anonymous said...

Looking for non-deep dish Pizza options in the neighborhood???

There are plenty!

Flo & Santo's
Lou Malnatti's
Aurelio's
Pizano's

call them, order the thin, enjoy!

YOU'RE WELCOME!

Anonymous said...

I like Kroll's thin crust, too!

ALS said...

That's the Enrico's I was referring too. I don't care for A'Cappella at all.

Anonymous said...

Flo & Santos has pretty good thin crust and Whole Foods does NY style remarkably well.

Not a huge fan of Gioco. Another Italian option in the neighborhood would be very welcome

Anonymous said...

While I love Italian food, it would have been nice to see a pub go in there. There is Gioco and Cafe Bionda so close, as well as Flo and Santos for somewhat Italian fare. Really looking forward to Scout opening, but a smallish, cozy bar/pub is needed around here!!

Anonymous said...

Whatever it is that goes at that spot, let's hope it's run by a completely different crew than the people who were running the show at Grace O'Malley's during its swan song. That place really went downhill in its last year.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if its related to Panozzos? I seen their staff enter and leave the space.

Anonymous said...

Anyone have an update on this space? My friends and family from other parts of the city have been mocking the sloop ever since this placed closed down suddenly (right before st pattys day) and never reopened or reconceptualized because this was really the only place in the hood we would all like to hang at. Now, whenever it's time to make plans for a saturday evening, I was get the "hey, how about we go to the south loop and hang with Matty at Grace O'Malley's, oh wait, HA HA HA."

It's starting to get a little old - but so is waiting around for ANY signs of life at our "south loop local."