Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #1 - Retail Rising

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#1 - Retail Rising

If you're like us, you've learned to be patient with the South Loop retail scene. For years the space has been ready for businesses to come to the South Loop, but unfortunately it hasn't come as fast as we would like. Well in 2011, the neighborhood retail scene seemed to gain some momentum. New businesses coming to the neighborhood significantly outweighed those closing up shop.

The biggest news on this front was Trader Joe's opening up at the Northeast corner of Wabash and Roosevelt. While we don't completely credit the overall neighborhood retail trend to this opening, it sure seemed to change peoples perceptions. We had a post that took a look at Trader Joe's impact on an area of Lincoln park and pondered whether it could do the same for the Sloop.

Beyond Trader Joe's, two other much discussed restaurants/bars opened in the summer but had very different experiences in the neighborhood. In August, The Scout opened on the Southeast corner of Wabash and 13th (the old Opera space). While many discussed whether or not the new sports bar/restaurant fit into the neighborhood, most seem to agree it's doing quite well and has been a good addition.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for Tribute (800 S. Michigan) who closed up shop in December, only 5 months after opening. It was an ambitious attempt and by most accounts was pretty good. Regardless, it never seemed to gain momentum and clearly wasn't sustainable.

The vacant retail space South of Roosevelt saw a lot of food/drink options open up their doors in 2011. Pita Heaven (1250 S. Michigan), Waffles (1400 S. Michigan), Chi Bakery (2135 S. Michigan) added some solid food options to South Michigan while Donna's Cafe (1255 S. State), Flavor 180 (1511 S. State), Overflow Coffee (1550 S. State) and Burger Point (1900 S. State) all opened up on South State.

And let's not forget about Acadia (1639 S. Wabash), the promising contemporary American restaurant that just opened last week and hopes to usher in a new era of fine dinning in the Sloop.

And it wasn't all restaurants either. Sanctuary (1400 S. Michigan), Ur

ban Remix (1468 S. Michigan), H+ Records (730 S. Dearborn), Urban Grocery (730 S. Clark), South Loop Immediate Care (1430 S. Michigan), Victory Barber Salon (1926 S. State) are new to the neighborhood.

And it wasn't all new stuff - Lou Malnatti's (805 S. State), Flo & Santos (1310 S. Wabash), South Loop Market (1720 S. Michigan) and Jimmy Green's (825 S. State) have expanded or are in the process of expanding.

It wasn't all good news in 2011. Entourage man (1355 S. Michigan), Doctor's Choice (1345 S. Michigan), Grant Park Cleaners (3 E. Roosevelt), Daniela's Hair Salon (705 S. Dearborn) all closed their doors while Marble Slab Creamery (1245 S. Michigan) might be out of business.

We probably missed a couple, so please chime in if you know of something, but all in all we would say it's been a good year on the retail front for the Sloop. Better yet, 2012 is looking even brighter so stay tuned for that post (coming soon in 2012).

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #2 - Motor Row Entertainment District

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#2 - Motor Row Entertainment District

Strategically speaking, it makes sense for the city to invest in the future of the Cermak corridor mainly due to the fact that McCormick Place remains a huge asset for the city. While the real estate and residential boom in the neighborhood helped the area, most of the development never quite made it down to Cermak.

However, in 2011, various projects, initiatives and efforts were put forward to help evolve and shape the future of this area. As posted earlier in our top 11 Sloopin stories, the announced Green Line stop at Cermak was one big piece of the puzzle for the area.

Probably the biggest development was Alderman Fioretti's push to transform the stretch of Michigan avenue from Cermak to the Stevenson Expressway into an "entertainment district". While we're unsure about what this exactly means, it's good to see some attention being devoted to this stretch.

With this announcement came some other interesting developments. First off was the announcement that Cheap Trick (a prominent local band from the 70s) would be opening up a multi-purpose museum, restaurant, concert venue to anchor this entertainment district. We also heard about a new brewery that would also be coming (which we recently found out was going to be called Broad Shoulders Brewery).

There was also talk about renaming the entertainment district from "Motor Row" to "Music Row" to embrace the areas musical roots (since there were numerous record labels in the area). This seems like a good idea if you ask us given that Music would probably resonate with an entertainment district more than Motor.

Finally, there was also talk in November about a massive hotel and retail complex at the Northeast corner of Cermak and Indiana. However we recently found out that a judge has put the brakes on this project.

Needless to say, there has been a ton of talk about this area in 2011. We imagine this will continue into 2012 so stay tuned...it should be interesting.

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #3 - Educational Institutions Lead Development Push in the Sloop

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#3 - Educational Institutions Lead Development Push in the Sloop

If we were to say that some new impressive, huge buildings are going up in the South Loop, you might think we travelled back to 2005 or were on crack. Well you would be wrong on both accounts, but the truth is that there are some amazing buildings being built in the neighborhood, but not by commercial entities - they're being built by educational institutions.

The most impressive building of them all (and maybe the most impressive building in all of Chicago in 2011) was Roosevelt University's Vertical Campus. While just North of what we consider the South Loop (since it's just North of Congress) the strikingly beautiful blue building looms large over the South Loop.

Beyond that, construction has begun on the new Jones College Prep high school at 606 S. State. East West University also broke ground at 819 S. Wabash to build a multi-purpose building consisting of classrooms, dorms and such. It's a similar concept to the Roosevelt University's vertical campus building albeit on a smaller scale.

Two other announcements in 2011 were Roosevelt University's new athletic center that will be built on the just Southeast corner of Congress on Wabash and Columbia's purchase of the Ebony/Jet HQ building at 820 S. Michigan.

Needless to say, these institutions are expanding and continue to bring more and more people to the neighborhood.

(Image from Curbed Chicago)

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #4 - New Green Line Cermak Station Announcement

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#4 - New Green Line Cermak Station Announcement
While it's clear that the Roosevelt El station is the primary hub for public transportation in the South Loop, as the neighborhood has continued to grow to the South many have been calling for a new El station South of Roosevelt (since there is no stop between Roosevelt and 35th street).

This has been a debate for a long time, but in mid-October of 2011 the CTA announced plans to open up a new Green Line Stop at Cermak between Wabash and State. While the stop isn't planned to open until 2014, this news should be a shot in the arm for the area and Alderman Fioretti's push to make Motor Row into an entertainment district. It also makes a ton of sense since it will provide another public transportation option for people/conventions at McCormick Place.

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #5 - Muggings in the South Loop

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#5 - Muggings in the South Loop
While must of us like to focus on the positives in the South Loop, this doesn't mean that some scary things aren't happening. Back in July, a string of muggings took place on Indiana and Michigan Avenue between Roosevelt and 18th. While the perpetrators were apprehended, the neighborhood was on high alert for a couple tense weeks.

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #6 - The Danger Zone (13th & Wabash)

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#6 - Danger Zone (13th and Wabash)

We've been hearing about traffic issues at the intersection of 13th and Wabash for some time now, but back in May we posted an email from a reader talking about cars blowing through the stop sign and nearly hitting pedestrians.

This post got a ton of comments and it appears that Alderman Fioretti has taken action as he announced that stop lights would be installed at the intersections of 13th/Wabash and 14th/Wabash.

While the lights aren't up yet, we assume it's a matter of time.

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #7 - Snowmageddon

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#7 - Snowmageddon
While there were some saftey concerns during the blizzard of 2011 in early February, in hindsight the Snowmageddon was captivating and dare we say even fun. Here is a great video shot by one of our readers who was holed up in her building at South Financial Place:


(Hat tip: RP!)

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #8 - The Fall of KDK Restaurants

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#8 - The Fall of KDK Restaurant Group
Back in March of 2011, some ominous signs appeared on the windows of one of the South Loop's pioneer restaurants, Gioco. The signs stating that the restaurant would be "closed today and till further notice" were surprising to many around the neighborhood but no one knew about the bigger issue, which was that KDK Restaurant Group (owners of Gioco, Opera, Red Light and Marche) weren't paying all their taxes.

After Gioco's news came about, Red Light (in the West Loop) also closed. At the time, no one knew the fate of these restaurants. Today, Right Light remains closed, but Gioco reopened in May after being sold to a separate group. While some minor things have changed at Gioco (new chef) it appears that the restaurant is back to running smoothly.

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #9 - The South Loop Power Plant Hoax

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#9 - The South Loop Power Plant Hoax
In April, a letter distributed to condo owners in Printer's Row from a company called "Midwest Energy" caused an uproar around the neighborhood as residents nervously searched for information about a "new power plant" coming to the vacant lot at Harrison and Wells.

As imagined residents weren't very happy with this news. But once Alderman Fioretti was contacted (we presume by many many people) he quickly tweeted that this isn't true. In fact it was an elaborate PR stunt by Citizens United Against Loop Coal to bring attention to the power plant at Pilsen:

Broad Shoulders Brewery Coming to Motor Row; Plans for Summer Opening

Back in the summer we heard about grand plans to transform Motor Row into an entertainment district. In conjunction with these announcements and developments was a mention of a new brewery coming to the area to help anchor the new district (as well as the Cheap Trick music venue).

At the time we didn't know a ton, but today we got a tip that a new website for Broad Shoulders Brewing was live. The website looks good and gives some more information about the origins of the brewery:

We at Broad Shoulders Brewing are very excited to be located in the Motor Row
neighborhood of the South Loop, at 2337 South Michigan Avenue. We are happy to
be bringing a brewery to a new Southside neighborhood. Broad Shoulders will be
brewing both ales and lagers, with a stronger focus on traditional and
experimental lager styles. The brewery will have a large tasting room and bar.
We invite you to come in and sample our beers. There will also be packaged beer
sales on premise. Look for us next summer on draft at some traditionally known
beer bars, and some new locations on the Southside and around the city.

We like what we see and are glad to hear that they're shooting for a summer opening. This will definitely be something we're closely monitoring as 2012 progresses.

(Hat tip: JJ!)
(Image from: Broad Shoulders Brewery)

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #10 - Printers Row Named Most Walkable Neighborhood

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#10 - Printers Row Named Most Walkable Neighborhood in Chicago

While the methodology of things like this is always questioned, in this case it proved to be a PR success for Printers Row and the South Loop in general. While we already knew that the neighborhood is a great place for a stroll, it's good to get some press like this:

Top 11 Sloopin Stories of 2011: #11 - Ping Tom Park Expands

It's that time of year and like many other websites, tv stations, newspapers and blogs, we're going to take a look back at some of the most important and biggest stories of 2011.

#11 - Ping Tom Park Expands North

Often overlooked, Ping Tom Park continues to get rave reviews. Back in September we posted about the new addition to the park just North of 18th street. While many forget about this spot (since it's on the fringe of what many consider the South Loop), it truly is a special public space that offers serene places to relax and some amazing views of the city.

(Image from Curbed Chicago)

For Your Doormen: To Tip or Not to Tip - That is the Question

A reader writes:

Hi,

I would love to see a post about tipping etiquette for doormen in Chicago. I just moved to the South Loop from LA, where doormen are not a common sight.

Thanks!!

(Hat tip: JK!)

What's Happening at the Museum Park Sales Center?

A reader writes:

Hello Sloopin!

I love your site. Have you heard anything about what the plans are for the former site of the museum park sales center located on ne corner of 13th and Indiana? They started demolition on Tuesday and they are almost done with it. I have attached photo from my balcony view.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

(Hat tip: HS!)