Overflow Coffee Bar: a Grand Opening and a Grand Mission

In the fall of last year a reader was on the lookout for a coffee shop where they could go to work, relax and enjoy the neighborhood vibe. Despite our cheesy headline, it sounds like this reader and hopefully others have a new place to fulfill this desire - Overflow Coffee Bar (1550 S. State). Overflow Coffee Bar has been working towards opening up their business for awhile and it finally came to fruition. Best of all they're operating with a unique and interesting mission:

Overflow Coffee Bar is more than a typical coffee shop. For starters, we give our profits back into the community for non-profit activities. Next, we have a mission that’s more than just selling coffee. Our mission is to give South Loop residents, students and workers the opportunity to change the world. We accomplish our mission through four priorities.

Lofty goals, but ones you have to admire. For more info check out their website. Definitely an interesting read and definitely not something your 'typical' coffee shop would put down on paper. Anyway, their official grand opening is this Friday and they have a variety of special events:

Friday’s Schedule

• 7am - First 300 people get a FREE Overflow travel mug (bring it in and get $0.30 off your drink… no expiration!)


• 3pm - live guitar!


• 5pm - Come in your pajamas and get an extra discount. Plus, we’ll play 80’s music.

Saturday’s Schedule

• 10am - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony


• 11am - Special Guest Appearance of Cosmo the Lango Bulldog


• 3pm - DJ Toxxic

Welcome to the Sloop Overflow Coffee...best of luck and see you soon!

Shots Around the Sloop: Digging at Trader Joe's

On March 21st, an anonymous commenter posted something no one in the neighborhood wants hear:

Sorry to possibly start a new rumor mill on this one, BUT I was at the River North Trader Joe's yesterday and was told that the S. Loop location was on hold indefinitely. Has Sloopin or anyone else heard the same from any reliable sources? Thanks!

We haven't heard that and hope it's not true. Regardless, we are pretty skeptical as the underground parking lot dig is in full swing and progressing quickly. Here are some shots we took on Monday:

Chicago's Best Goes to Flo & Santos

There has been a lot of talk about Gioco and some of the issues facing this restaurant, so we found it refreshing that their next door neighbor (and newest addition to the block) is getting some great pub:

Official Statement - Gioco Will Reopen

According to Crain's and an official statement from Kleiner:

Gioco, which has remained profitable over the years, has closed for the time being so that owners and investors can assess who will be involved and how details will be worked out going forward. It will reopen as soon as possible with the same name, concept and location.

More News on KDK Restaurant Empire and Our Gioco

Sorry if you're not into this story, but more and more information continues to come out and judging by the buzz last week we know some readers are very interested in it. With that said, the blog Eater Chicago has some new information about KDK, Gioco, Red Light and the subsequent 'restaurant empire' that looks to be in transition mode:

"Red Light is 15 years old so it's a little bit tired, but it has run a tremendous course," Kleiner said. "With Gioco, it's profitable, and we have a partnership there and we have to sort out and see what everyone wants to do. That's going to take a few days to figure out. There's a possibility we may sell it off and put it to rest. It's all been a great run for everybody."

So KDK, which at one time was one of the most successful restaurant groups in Chicago with places like the now-shuttered Marché and still-operating Vivo leading the charge in the early to mid '90s, and can be credited for helping make the West Loop what it is today, may cease to exist. Kleiner has been working on his own projects, including Carnivale and 33 Club, for a few years, and has design projects "all over the world," he said. His partner, Howard Davis, is also working on separate projects. Dan Krasny, who was a third partner, split from KDK years ago and continues to operate Vivo. "I'm moving in a whole new direction in my life," Kleiner said. "As each restaurant has moved on ... I moved on. I have projects all over."

Although the ambiguity around Gioco might not the news many of us were hoping to hear, it's still nice to hear that Gioco was profitable and it's closing wasn't a product of the neighborhood not supporting it (or at least that's the way we're reading the comments). Anyway, stay tuned.

Lights On at Old Orange Restaurant on Harrison?

A reader recently noticed some activity at the old Orange restaurant (75 W. Harrison) and wondered if we knew anything. This is the first we've heard, but does anyone else know what's up?

Hey there Sloopin-

Just walked by the old Orange space on Harrison, between Clark and Dearborn, and all the lights were on and it looks like some demo had been done. Any idea of what might be coming? Here are some pics.

Cheers.

(Hat tip: TR!)

More Trouble for KDK Restaurants as Red Light Closes

Many Sloopers were disappointed about the recent news about Gioco closing (including us). Yes, we hear it's they are planning to re-open, but many people don't seem to have that faith.


Regardless, it appears there is some other issues at KDK restaurants. Crain's Chicago is reporting that Red Light (another KDK restaurant in the West Loop) also closed this week. Who knows what this means, but regardless our fingers are still crossed that they sort out this mess and that Gioco reopens.


This story has also received a wide amount of prominent news coverage, but we enjoyed reading the blog, The Feast, who sympathised with the South Loop residents and suggested ten solid dinning options in the Sloop.

YoChicago Checks in at One Museum Park

For those of us who are interested in neighborhood real estate, YoChicago ponders whether Spring will serve as a form of renewal for two of the South Loop's most high profile properties:

At the newer of the two towers, the 298-unit One Museum Park West at 1201 S Prairie Ave, just two developer-owned condos have closed since January 1. Going by what I can see on Redfin, it looks like 57 are still listed for sale, more than half at prices above 750,000, and another 91 are under contract — and in more than a few cases, have been under contract since 2006. That means the building is, at most, half-closed.


The overall sales numbers don’t look quite as bad for the older and
taller tower, the 286-unit One Museum Park at 1211 S Prairie Ave, even if it’s seen just one sale since October 1. Redfin shows 31 homes for sale and one home under contract, so the building may be nearing the 90% sold
mark. However, the remaining inventory isn’t cheap — the median price for those 31
developer-owned units is $1.23 million, and the 60605 ZIP code as a whole has
only seen about a dozen sales at or above that price in the past year.

Unexpected, Ominous Signs Appear on the Windows at Gioco

No need to push the panic button yet Sloopers!

On Wednesday and Thursday we received numerous emails from concerned readers about some ominous signs that appeared in the windows at Gioco (1312 S. Wabash):

I live on the same block as Gioco, and they have signs in the windows saying something to the effect of Closed Today and Until Further Notice; Sorry For the inconvenience. Does anyone know anything about this? It's such a great place...

Another writes:

I was walking by Gioco and saw it was closed. The signs in the window stated that Gioco would be closed today and until further notice. Not sure if they are closed permanently. Any ideas? Scoop?

Before fanning the flame, we decided to shoot a quick email to KDK restaurants (who runs Gioco) to inquire. Here is what they said:

We are hoping to overcome a temporary glitch that caused the closing. I would appreciate your patience and understanding.

We prodded a little more and they did say they play to reopen. So no need to panic just yet, it sounds like you will be enjoying some Italian food shortly.

To elaborate even further Crain's Chicago had this informative story today:

Chicago restaurateur Jerry Kleiner, a co-owner in Gioco, at 1312 S. Wabash Ave., says the state suspended its retail license Wednesday because Gioco has fallen behind in making required employee withholding and sales tax payments. He hopes the closing will be temporary and said he and his partners in owner KDK Restaurants Inc. are working with the Illinois Department of Revenue to get the license reinstated.

Mr. Kleiner said Gioco is making money — he declined to provide specifics — but has suffered in a financial restructuring at KDK, which at one time owned a string of high-end eateries, including Marché in the West Loop and Opera, Gioco's neighbor just up Wabash. Marché closed in June after a near-two-decade run, and Opera shut its doors in December.

Now KDK is down to just one restaurant: Red Light. Mr. Kleiner said Gioco's success has helped keep Red Light afloat and delayed the demise of Opera.

"We're going to make good on the taxes owed," Mr. Kleiner said. "Gioco is very profitable. It just got caught in the fire."

Ironically, we actually went to Gioco this past week and had arguably one of the best meals we've had at the restaurant (we've probably been a dozen times over the past couple of years).

We opted for the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer (a staple whenever we go) and then split the tortellini and the Filetto Con Salsa Al Barolo for the first time. The filet dish was amazing. Two 4 oz Gorgonzola Dolce Crusted Beef Filets, Roasted Cippolini Onions, Sautéed Rapini, & Barolo Sauce.

Hopefully we will be able to have this dinner again soon!

What do you think is going to happen?

(Hat tip: DR, CS, BK, SLA, KDK, HAD!)

Alliance for a Greener South Loop Touts Earth Day

We recently received an email from the Alliance for a Greener South Loop asking us to bring some attention to Earth Day, which is this Saturday, March 26th. It's an important event and wanted to give it some pub:

Earth Hour is a global initiative that invites individuals, businesses, governments and communities to turn off their lights for one hour – 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. Will the South Loop’s commitment to the environment shine through its darkness for one hour?

They also give you tips on what you can do to take part in the event:

What can YOU do?

• Talk to your building management about posting a notice to residents to Turn Off Your Lights!
• Ask your friends and neighbors to do the same in their buildings.
• Staying home on Saturday, March 26? Switch off lights for Earth Hour at 8:30 p.m., and celebrate a commitment to the planet with the people of the world;
• Planning to eat out on Friday, March 26? Call ahead and ask the restaurant if they’ll have lights out and candles on for the evening;
• Use the logo on your website, blog, or e-mail signature (jpeg attached, or go to www.earthhour.org/tools)
• Help us document Earth Hour around us. Post before and after pictures of the neighborhood on the Alliance’s Facebook page.
• The Alliance for a Greener South Loop presents the first annual Earth Hour
  Tweet-Up: tweet @GreenSouthLoop and tell us where you are and what’s going on where you are during Earth Hour.
• Sustain environmentally-focused actions beyond the hour and share what you
  did in the the South Loop at by commenting on this blog post and with the world.
• Sign up and share stories of actions that benefit the planet on http://www.earthhour.org/

(Hat tip: GM!)

Adler Seeking a New Prize for Museum Campus

In case you missed this story last week in the Chicago Tribune, the Adler Planetarium is one of many institutions hoping to land a space shuttle:

The Adler is one of 20 museums in the running to get one of two orbiters up for grabs, Endeavour and Atlantis. NASA will reveal the two museums that will get those shuttles April 12, the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle space flight.

"Chicago is the best place in the Middle West for a shuttle," said Adler President Paul Knappenberger after revealing an elaborate concept drawing of the kind of building Adler would erect on a parking lot west of the planetarium to house a shuttle and related exhibits.

As part of their bid, Adler proposes an interesting pavilion to house the shuttle:

Hoping to create a little last-minute hoopla for its cause, Adler Planetarium on Thursday unveiled plans for a dramatic lakefront glass pavilion that it proposes to build if it obtains one of the soon-to-be-retired space shuttles.

(Image from the Chicago Tribune)

Roosevelt Collection Sold!

We've been hearing rumblings about Roosevelt Collection being shopped around and judging by a post we read on Curbed Chicago (via Crain's) it sounds like the massive new development on Roosevelt has been sold:

Unnamed sources tell Crain's that McCaffery and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors have agreed to buy Roosevelt Collection, the suburban-style apartment-retail development, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $160 to $175 million - roughly half what it cost to build. The main question remaining for South Loop residents is whether McCaffery will be able to do what Centrum Properties failed at: leasing the 398,324 square feet of retail space.

This has got to be considered a good thing for the neighborhood. It became clear that Centrum lost momentum with the project and even though the rental units appeared to be leased, there was absolutely no visible movement on the retail front.

Hopefully this sale brings some fresh blood into the project and a group that is motivated to see the development live up to its potential. Speaking of the new blood, we did a quick google search on Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and found out that they're the group that developed State Place.

For Sloopers who aren't familiar with that name, you definitely know their property, which is the huge development that starts at Roosevelt and State and goes all the way north to 11th street (see pic). Retail tenants within this property include Walgreens, Fitness Formula Club, Verizon, HR Block, Hair Cutery and Kriser's Pet Shop. Let's hope they get moving on the retail front...we love the property but want this place to progress.

Hopefully this is a good sign! What do you think, please sound off.

For more background on Roosevelt

Collection click here.

Living Like an MVP in the Sloop

If you're a fan of the NBA, you probably know that Derrick Rose is a baller and that he is the favorite to become the youngest MVP in league history. The best thing about this is that he hails from Chicago and plays for his hometown Bulls.

If you've followed his story, you know he grew up playing basketball on some of Chicago's most notoriously dangerous streets. When he "made it" in the league there was some concern that some of the people he grew up with could bring him down. Luckily it appears that Derrick and his family have been able to prosper and successfully distance themselves from bad influences.

One of the ways we heard he did this was by moving to the suburbs. However, it came as a surprise when we read a recent post on the Chicago Now blog network about sports stars and where they live in Chicago:

Looking at some famous basketball players, Michael Jordan built an amazing house in suburbs, as did Scottie Pippen, close to the Berto Center, while Derrick Rose is currently downtown, closer to his United Center game site, living in a South Loop townhome.

This came as a surprise. Regardless it's always good to have an MVP in the neighborhood...it helps the value of our real estate.

With a post about Derrick Rose, we're obligated to post a youtube video of his ridiculous dunk highlights:

The Scout and Tribute Most Eagerly Anticipated New Spots

Sloopin's retail week was exciting for us, hope you found it good as well! Thanks for all the tips, comments and page views (as an FYI, it was our best week ever on Sloopin in regard to traffic to the site).

Our corresponding informal poll suggests that people are eager for most of the new spots, but the Scout and Tribute are clearly the most anticipated: Tribute came out slow of the gate, but they definitely understand the power of social media and saw some big gains towards the end thanks to posts on their Facebook and Twitter pages. With that said, we also saw a great video on this page showcasing one of the interesting dishes executive chef Brandon Baltzey is dreaming up (we also love the music):