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| francesca's open on East side of the complex |
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| Fleet Feet open on East side of the complex |
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and local officials broke ground today on the new Cermak Green Line station, a $50 million construction project that will energize the area around McCormick Place and provide a crucial additional transportation option for the Near South Side. The $50 million station is part of $92 million in overall transportation investments, including the rehabilitation of the Roosevelt and Harrison stations on the Red Line and the 18th Street Connector, which will significantly revitalize the near south side of the city.
The Cermak station will be the 146th CTA station. The construction project is being managed by the Chicago Department of Transportation, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2014. The station will be located near the intersection of Cermak Avenue and State Street and directly west of the McCormick Place convention center.
Roosevelt Road Streetscape and Intermodal Improvements, between State Street and Columbus Drive. Total Cost: $7 million (All from TIF)
- Chicago Neighborhoods Now Project
- Wider sidewalks and improved pedestrian facilities at the CTA intermodal facility
- A raised two-way bicycle path along the north side of Roosevelt between Wabash and Indiana, improving connections to the park and museum campus
- New pedestrian lighting between State and Indiana
- Pedestrian safety improvements including new crosswalks, improved existing crosswalks, and pedestrian refuge islands
- Streetscape enhancements including decorative pavers, community identifiers, street trees, seating and bike parking
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| Image inside Giordano's South Loop (Photo via Lizzie Shiffman DNA INFO) |
After months of building problems slowed construction plans, Giordano's pizza franchisee Joe Chojnowski hopes to open a deep dish pizzeria at 1340 S. Michigan Ave. by the end of September.
Build-out is underway at the former Cook County Courthouse building, a seven-story Classic Revival-style structure that made Preservation Chicago's endangered list in 2006.It truly is a unique/lovely building for the neighborhood and glad to see it restored. For those interested in additional details about the inside of the restaurant:
The finished product will include a horseshoe-shaped bar that seats 25, and tables for nearly 100 diners, Chojnowski said. The eatery will offer delivery and pickup in addition to sit-down dining.
"We're excited to be coming to this area," he said. "I think Giordano's is gonna be well welcomed here. We've had a very good response so far from people stopping by, asking when we're opening. I think it's going to be a good location."Nice.
| Corner of Michigan and Roosevelt looking Southeast (image via Lenny Gilmore/RedEye) |
When Olivia Cole, 25, was deciding where she should live with her boyfriend, she considered breaking up with Chicago.
She was tired of the slow Red Line commute from her place in Edgewater to her job downtown, which affected how much she wanted to go out at night. She thought about moving to another city but didn't want to change jobs. She wanted to be near her friends who live on the South Side without being too far from the Loop.
Eventually, Cole settled on the South Loop, a place she came to know and love from her time as a student at Columbia College.
"It's just a cool area. … Now I can get to work in 20 minutes," Cole said. "I love that I can walk to Roosevelt [Road]. My dad was in town and I said, 'Let's go to a museum.' "For us it's a little bit of a boring read and doesn't seem to go very deep into why the Sloop is great (this is a commuter paper so naturally the level of detail is going to be limited). Regardless, it's always good when our neighborhood gets painted and a positive light.
Have been meaning to drop a line to Sloopin’ for a while because I have feared that the changes at Panozzo’s Italian Market would lead to confusion and misconceptions about the business. My fault. We appreciate and respect the ownership that Sloopin’ and its followers take in the South Loop, so let me spell out what is happening and why.
Many things have changed for Panozzo’s in the past two years, but one thing hasn’t. Our philosophy is, and will always be, chef-driven with locally sourced, house-made and high-quality ingredients. The food we make ourselves will always be the most important thing we do at Panozzo’s.
The menu has changed to reflect that, which means many of the “options” that existed before simply don’t exist. We are not trying to force-feed the public our interpretation of “the perfect sandwich,” but we have put a lot of time and effort into creating sandwiches and dishes that are unique to Panozzo’s. The description in my blog entry earlier in the year spells that out, so I won’t rehash it here. http://www.sloopin.com/2013/02/panozzos-raising-bar-in-2013.html
That said, I don’t disagree that we have done a poor job of redefining ourselves for the neighborhood. That problem will be remedied shortly after Labor Day. To accommodate additional seating, we have had to eliminate some coolers to create space to put in public restrooms. We have ordered new furniture, but don’t want to install it until the final buildout is completed. We will be closed for several days early in September, and when we re-open we promise to be the final and best version of Panozzo’s!
As for our identity, someone suggested that we decide if we are a deli or a restaurant.
We will be both, but in a very defined way. We will be a quick-service, sit-down establishment, and the menu will be set. In that respect Panozzo’s will be a restaurant.
We will also maintain retail offerings, like our housemade sauces, hand-pulled mozzarella, fresh and frozen pasta, gelato, and a great selection of salumi, prosciutto, house roasted meats and artisanal cheeses. In that respect Panozzo’s will be a deli.
Many factors have impacted Panozzo’s business model, mostly in a positive way. DDD certainly brought in many visitors from foreign lands…like Logan Square and Wicker Park…and forced us to become more of a sit-down market.
And while we are thankful for that, make no mistake that our favored clientele is our neighbors in the South Loop. We live in the South Loop. We love the South Loop. And we appreciate your continued support and your patience and understanding as we have evolved.
Stick with us! It’ll be worth it!
Mike Panozzo
Panozzo’s Italian Market
Hello Sloopin,
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but Chicago Kernel is now open. I noticed them out today passing out free samples, and it tasted just as good as Garrett's. I figure I'll give their Carmel corn a try next week. For now, here's a photo as proof:
On August 24th, a few buildings are partnering to put together their annual garage sale. It will be held in the lot next to Trader Joes from 8:30am - 3:00pm! Sale items will vary from clothing to furniture to baby items and many more treasures.(Hat tip: CC!)
I'm a long-time South Loop resident (since 1999), and I volunteer as the Event Chair for Swim Across America Chicago. We use swimming events to raise money for cancer research at Rush University Cancer Center in Chicago. We held two events this year, a beach swim on July 20th at Ohio Street Beach, which had 260 swimmers, and a Swim Across Lake Michigan relay this past weekend, which involved 19 swimmers. I did both swims. So far, the two events have raised more than $390,000.
The Swim Across Lake Michigan event was the first of it's kind. It was an amazing and unique event. We departed Friday evening at 7:15 from 31st street beach and arrived in Michiana, MI on Saturday evening around 6 pm. We swim about 45 miles in total.
For more background, you can check out this:
TV segment from last month
Or this
CBS Radio segment from this spring
Cheers,
David McClellan
Swim Across America
Chicago Event Chair
Some of the busier Divvy bike-docking stations are clustered near CTA and Metra stations, which suggests that some commuters are incorporating Divvy into their transit trips downtown. No studies have been conducted to verify or pinpoint travel patterns, CDOT officials said, adding that the Divvy rollout will first be completed before conducting any in-depth analysis.
The preliminary data show that the busier Divvy stations near transit stops include the one at Clinton Street and Washington Boulevard, outside Ogilvie Transportation Center. It ranked No. 12 overall for the number of trips started from that location, almost 3,000, city transportation records show.
High-use Divvy stations near CTA rail stations include those at Michigan Avenue and Lake Street; Wabash Avenue and Roosevelt Road; and Canal Street and Jackson Boulevard, at the south entrance to Union Station, records show.
I was very excited about the addition of Izabella’s to the neighborhood; I walk by it on my way home each day and saw the hard work that was being put into it in order for them to open. So naturally, a week after they opened I scheduled a mani/pedi for myself and my sister and a facial for both of us as well.
We were taken to our mani/pedis pretty much right on time and they were done really well…my feet felt great afterwards and actually still do (you never know how good things will turn out with sandal weather and how hard we are on our feet in the summer).
My sister and I were both very happy with our mani/pedis; they took their time, didn’t rush us along and did a nice job. They were $30 each, because they were running a special for the new opening. We each got facials that same day and walked out of there feeling like a million bucks.
The facial was for 50 minutes and she did different things for each of us, obviously, according to what our skin needed. The facials were each $72 (again, running a special because of the new opening). They are usually $90 each. My face and trouble spots have really seen a difference and continue to look great. I would highly recommend people try Izabella’s for themselves.
On a side note: I even went back a week later and got my haircut and blown out, amazing and only $30!!! I have nothing but good things to say about them (the place and the people who work there)…I am very glad they are in the neighborhood. Welcome to the Sloop!(Hat tip: N!)
