![]() Stefani credits his staff - he has about 75 who work at the restaurant - for ensuring that celebrities would return. Tavern on Rush was packed as soon as restaurants reopened in 2020 during the pandemic. Tavern created a synergy with neighboring restaurants like Gibsons Steakhouse and Dublin’s - and eventually newer arrivals like Maple & Ash and Nico Osteria - transforming the neighborhood. Bon Jovi visited a few weeks ago, Stefani says, and they sipped wine together. Ron Burgundy and his ilk aside, Tavern remains popular, drawing celebrities from Mark Cuban to Jon Bon Jovi. Hundreds of fans - including many members of Chicago’s TV news media - mourned the closing on Thursday afternoon after management’s announcement. The pandemic hit two years after co-founder Gutilla passed away in 2018. ![]() Stefani says those challenges “have nothing to do with” the decision to close - this was purely the landlord’s choice in not extending the lease. It’s particularly disappointing as he says 2021 was the restaurant’s best year ever, surviving the height of the pandemic when restaurants had to open and close their dining rooms on the whim of COVID spikes: “It’s incredible what restaurants did to survive,” he says. Stefani says he’s known about Tavern’s closing for months. “The building is brick and mortar, and brick and mortar can always be replaced.” Stefani, a venerable Chicago restaurateur behind recent venues like Bar Cargo and Stefani Prime, wishes his landlord luck in replicating the welcoming environment that his staff has created. “Before there was a West Loop and Fulton Market and so forth, there was the corner of Rush and Bellevue.” “People have so many memories of that place,” Stefani says. Stefani says the building’s landlords want to remodel the space and operate the restaurant themselves. The area around Mariano Park had yet to earn its infamous nickname, and Gutilla and Stefani envisioned opening a bar and restaurant for people watching, one where celebrities would feel comfortable.Īfter 24 years, Tavern’s run will end on New Year’s Eve. When Tavern on Rush opened in 1998, Marty Gutilla and Phil Stefani sought to revitalize Rush and Division nightlife.
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