Chicago Venue News for Event Planners includes updates on Planned Projects, Renovations, Newest Spaces and Development at Exhibit Halls, Conference Centers, Galleries and Lofts in Chicago by BizBash

Chicago Venue News lists the latest scoop on new projects, renovations and development at Hotels, Lofts, Houses, Museums, Terraces, Bars, Clubs and Lounges

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NEW NIGHT SPOTS Old Oak Tap The Pony Angels & Kings Club Royale Spybar Eno at the Fairmont Chicago Religion   UNIQUE SPACES Horseshoe Casino Bottom Lounge The Pavilions at Brookfield Zoo Phaiz S.P.A.C.E./Union Pizzeria Blo.Dri   NEW SPAS Trump Hotel's Spa Guestrooms MySpa at the Fairmont Chicago Allyu Spa   NEW RESTAURANTS Duchamp C-House, C-View Madame Tartine Hub 51 Perennial Graham Elliott L2O   NEW HOTELS InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Dana Hotel and Spa Residence Inn and Springhill Suites Trump International Hotel & Tower     Venue News Archive 10.30.09 1:12 PM Ceres' Table: Italian Restaurant From a Former Boka Chef Uptown restuarant Ceres' Table is scheduled to open on November 16. Chef-owner Giuseppe Scurato, formerly of Boka and Landmark, will offer a seaonal menu of items prepared with local ingredients. Dishes will include country-style paté made with pork and Sicilian pistachios, gnocchi with rabbit confit and arugula pesto, and flatiron steak with lemon-roasted potatoes and shallot fondue. The 78-seat venue will be available for full buyouts.   —Jenny Berg 10.16.09 1:38 PM Ajasteak to Change Name, Revamp Menu Aja restaurant Photo: Hendrick Blessing In River North's Dana Hotel, lobby restaurant Ajasteak is set to shorten its name to Aja next Thursday. The eatery also will get a revamped menu with lower price points and a focus on regional Asian cuisine prepared with local ingredients, according to chef Joshua Linton. (In the past, the menu offered Asian steak house fare.)  Selections on Aja's lunch menu will include Vietnamese bahn mi sandwiches served on baguettes and filled with Asian barbequed pork or catfish with chile mayo and mint. On the new dinner menu, sharable dishes will include iron-seared chicken teriyaki and suzuki sea bass with wok-flashed veggies. A snack bar will offer sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and crudo; and on the cocktail list, specialty drinks will include the "Saigon Collins" made with cucumber, ginger beer, and sake-infused vodka. MORE >> 09.16.09 12:47 PM Cibo Matto's New Lunch Service Offers Grilled Lamb Burgers, Eggplant Panini Cibo Matto Photo: Wayne Cable Open for dinner since July, Cibo Matto, the Wit hotel's second-floor Italian restaurant, introduced lunch service on Tuesday. Chef Todd Stein's menu includes oven-cured tomato bruschetta with pesto and ricotta; a romaine and watercress salad with chicken, avocado, and prosciutto; and entrees such as a grilled lamb burger with minted yogurt and an eggplant panini with cow's milk mozzarella. Group lunches can take place at a 14-seat communal table; the restaurant also offers a cherry-wood chef's table for 12 and a private dining room that can seat 16.   —Jenny Berg 09.03.09 12:25 PM Fall Preview: 7 of Chicago's Most Anticipated New Venues The Sarah and Peer Pedersen Room Photo: Mark Ballogg/Lyric Opera of Chicago Here's a look at a few restaurants and an eco-friendly event space set to open this fall. 1. Scheduled for completion at the end of this month, Logan Square Kitchen is an event space and shared-use commercial kitchen. Housed in a 1913 building with exposed brick walls, fixtures made from reclaimed wood, and eggplant-hued velvet drapes, the venue is certified for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. "The great thing about this space," said owner Zina Murray, "is that the hard-core foodies can host dinners here and bring in their own chefs. We have a restaurant-style kitchen with a walk-in cooler, big appliances—anything a chef would need to cook. The kitchen's not just for plating and reheating." The space will host sit-down dinners for 75 and receptions for 100. MORE >> 08.14.09 2:02 PM Lincoln Park Bistro Will Serve Buttered Quail Eggs, Host Receptions for 150 Chef Jason Paskewitz Photo: Courtesy of Gemini Bistro From chef Jason Paskewtiz and partner Ryan O'Donnell, Gemini Bistro is slated for a September 9 opening in Lincoln Park. With tweed banquettes, a gold marble bar, and South African wall sconces crafted from ostrich eggs, the restaurant will be available for full buyout and will host seated dinners for 100 and receptions for 150. Also available for rental, a patio on Dickens Street will seat 40. Paskewitz's menu will focus on American fare with French and Italian twists, and items will be categorized by size. The "Small" selections are set to include lobster gazpacho and summer tomato salad; the "Medium" menu will offer creamy vegetable risotto and bacon with butter-basted quail eggs; and the "Extra Large" items will include a whole roasted chicken with root veggies and a natural-reduction sauce. MORE >> 07.09.09 11:03 AM Pedestrian Plazas Now Available for Events, Provide New Revenue for City The crowded car-free zone next to Macy's Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash FROM NEW YORK After debuting in May, the car-free areas on Broadway are still in the development stages—lingering traffic cones cordon off some sections, and the lawn chairs in Times Square will soon be replaced with sturdier ones—but the city has already started renting them out for events and promotions. The move is a positive one for New York—the usage brings in an additional revenue stream—as well as for planners and producers, who value the added visibility. And according to The New York Times, 20 events have made use of the spaces since May, including Monday afternoon's public promotion from VH1. MORE >> 06.30.09 12:57 PM Cibo Matto to Open Two Weeks Ahead of Schedule, Offer Private Dining Rooms The interior of Cibo Matto Rendering: The Johnson Studio Cibo Matto, an Italian restaurant on the second floor of the Wit Hotel, will open on July 7, two weeks ahead of schedule. (Of opening early, chef Todd Stein told Chicago mag: "We are ready. I'm bored. I'm antsy.") The 145-seat venue houses a private dining room that seats 14 at a communal table; a semiprivate area seats 24 and can be closed off from the main dining room with sliding doors. A chef's table, situated near the semi-open kitchen, can accommodate 12.  Chef Stein's menu will include grilled octopus with braised white beans, roasted chicken livers with creamy polenta, and burrata cheese salad with peaches and almond pesto.   —Jenny Berg 06.25.09 12:44 PM Trump Tower's New Terrace Opens Tonight, Hosts Receptions for 150 Drinks from the bar at Terrace at Trump Credit: Courtesy of Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago Tonight, the Terrace at Trump opens on the 16th floor of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. Overlooking the Wrigley Clock Tower and the Tribune Building, the space also offers views of Navy Pier's fireworks shows, which take place on Wednesday and Saturday nights through Labor Day. Chef Frank Brunacci's seasonal menu includes gnocchi with fresh corn, jumbo lump crab, and spinach, and Berkshire pork chop with horseradish potato mash and roasted peaches.  At the alfresco bar, servers prepare specialty cocktails with nautical names, such as the cherry-vodka-and-cayenne-syrup-laced "Bon Voyage"; the wine list focuses on roses. MORE >> 06.12.09 1:10 PM InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Unveils Two Ballrooms, Hyatt Regency O'Hare Updates 1,100 Guest Rooms The new Artist's Wing at the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare Photo: John Sutton On Thursday, the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare announced the completion of its new Artist's Wing. With two new ballrooms, the addition has brought the hotel's total meeting space from 28,000 square feet to 53,000 square feet. Features of the new wing include hanging sculptures and painting displays, a green rooftop covered in soil and wheat grass, and wind-powered electricity. In other suburban hotel news, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare recently completed a $64 million transformation that brought updated ameneties such as new workspaces and 37-inch LCD TVs to its 1,100 guest rooms and suites. The property also includes a two-year-old 20,000-square-foot conference center.   —Jenny Berg 06.05.09 1:11 PM New Pair of Restaurants to Bring Mango Guacamole, Zigzag Bar to River North Slated to open in River North in midsummer, Mercadito Chicago will mark the fourth location of the New-York-based chain. Spanish for "little market," the Mexican restaurant's menu will offer traditional and mango guacamole, six kinds of ceviche, and tacos stuffed with pork, shrimp, or beer-battered mahi mahi. With a maximum capacity of 120, the venue will house a tequila lounge that seats 35 and a lantern-lit communal table that can accommodate 14. Also expected to open in River North sometime this summer, Elate will occupy the ground floor of the Hotel Felix. Serving dressed-up American fare—burgers topped with creamed leeks and bacon, for example—the 80-seat restaurant will have a zigzag bar as its focal point. A patio will provide seating for 54 guests.   —Jenny Berg MORE NEWS Search for Suppliers Activities/Experiences Catering/Food Services Decor/Design/Flowers Entertainment Event Planning & Marketing/Meeting Planning/PR Event Production/Audiovisual Services Gifts/Premiums/Awards Industry Resources Invitations/Name Tags Photography/Videography Planning Tools/Software Rentals/Props Security/Fire Services/Insurance Signage/Banners/Printing Special Effects Staffing Trade Show Services Transportation/Parking Services Search for Venues By Type All Types Activity Venues Ballrooms (All Venues) Banquet Halls Bars/Clubs/Lounges Boats/Yachts Casinos Conference Centers, Convention Centers & Auditoriums Entertainment Venues/Performance Spaces Golf Courses/Clubs Hotels Independent Event Spaces Lofts/Photo Studios/Raw Spaces Mansions/Houses Movie Studios/Sound Stages Museums/Cultural Spaces Outdoor Spaces Private Clubs Quick Trips Religious Spaces Resorts Restaurants Retail Venues Spas/Relaxation Places Stadiums/Arenas Terraces/Roofs/Gardens (All Venues) By Neighborhood/Location All Neighborhoods West Town Andersonville Bronzeville Bucktown Chinatown Garfield Park Gold Coast Greektown Humboldt Park Hyde Park Lakeview Lincoln Park Lincoln Square Little Italy Logan Square Loop Magnificent Mile Old Town Pilsen Printer's Row Ravenswood River East River North River West Roscoe Village Rogers Park South Loop Streeterville Ukrainian Village Uptown West Loop Wicker Park Wrigleyville Evanston Lombard Naperville Oak Brook Oak Park Rosemont Schaumburg St. Charles Other Areas Show Only New Venues Search Our Venue Directory RECENTLY VIEWED Stories Mondavi Builds Replica of Napa Vineyard for Tasting at Nathan Phillips Square PREMIUM SPONSORED SUPPLIERS BizBash SCHED* M&M The Special Events Company WPI Event Partners Inc. 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