This year saw the opening of many significant event and meeting venues in Chicago. Here's a look at the best restaurants, party rooms, hotels, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open in 2014. These new and renovated Chicago venues suit groups large or small for private and corporate events, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
Nico Osteria opened in the Thompson Hotel in December. Overlooking the Gold Coast, the second-floor private dining space is decked with mid-century furniture and velvet accents, and it comprises three private dining rooms—the Chelsea, Factory, and Fellini—separated by floating walls. When combined, the rooms seat 70 or hold 150 receptions. The Chelsea room has its own bar and seats 24. The Factory seats 24 or holds 50 when combined with the Chelsea. Fellini holds 20 for a seated event. The Reserve Bar is also on the second level and holds 50 for cocktails.
Morgan Manufacturing opened in the West Loop in September. In a former manufacturing complex, the venue spans six connected buildings and can host meetings, events, and conventions. The industrial-style space seats 600 or holds 1,000 for receptions. Billed as an "adaptive reuse project," the space will eventually house a 32,000-square-foot Innovation Lab, creative and tech office space, a brasserie and café, a craft distillery, and a rooftop terrace with cabanas and sun-shaded work spaces.
Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event opened DL Loft above her Lakeview studio in October. Modeled on a Parisian apartment, the event space seats 30 or holds 50 for receptions; it can also provide overnight accommodations for six. With a 20-foot glass window, the space is styled with gilded antique mirrors, French flea market finds, and ornate candelabras. It also has a professional chef’s kitchen, a French-salon-style lounge area, and a DJ loft.
The Godfrey Hotel Chicago came to River North in February. The property has 221 rooms, a fitness center, meeting rooms that hold as many as 100, and a small spa. On the fourth floor, IO Urban Roofscape offers 10,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor event space that holds 750 for receptions. Menu items include smoked-salmon flatbreads and Waygu steak sliders.
Fig & Olive, which has other locations in New York and California, opened a Chicago outpost in the Gold Coast in June. The two-story venue is available for buyout and seats 270 or holds 500 for receptions. There are also smaller spaces available for groups of as many as 175. On the catering menu, options include crostini, fig-Gorgonzola tartlets, and caramelized apple tarts.
Harry Caray's 7th Inning Stretch, which houses the Chicago Sports Museum, opened in April. The entire venue spans 23,000 square feet and can be rented out for groups of 2,500. The restaurant serves American fare including burgers, oven-fired pizzas, and hand-dipped milkshakes. In the museum, exhibits showcase sports memorabilia such as Sammy Sosa's corked bat, and there are high-tech, interactive games. The space is on the seventh floor of Water Tower Place.
After opening a New York location in 2012, Offsite debuted its Chicago outpost in September. The West Loop venue offers turnkey meeting packages. Its main room seats 100 guests at rounds or classroom-style and divides easily into four breakout spaces. It holds two 3-D LED televisions, a dining area and kitchenette, restrooms, a reception desk, and a coat check. On the mezzanine, a meeting room has a 26-seat conference table, floor-to-ceiling whiteboard walls, a kitchenette, and two additional 3-D LED televisions.
Le Méridien Chicago Oakbrook Center held its grand opening in September. With 172 guest rooms and suites, the Oak Brook hotel has 3,500 square feet of meeting and event space. On the ninth floor, the 3,034-square-foot Grand Ballroom has floor-to-ceiling windows and can be divided into four salons. The entire ballroom seats 180 for banquets, 202 theater-style, 130 classroom-style, or 60 in a U-shaped arrangement; it holds 250 for receptions. On the same floor, the Discovery Boardroom seats 12 for conferences. The hotel also has a Spanish restaurant, El Tapeo; a lobby-level restaurant called Longitude 87; and two spa suites that can be rented out for small spa parties.
Headquarters Beercade opened a second location in River North in August. With two floors and three bars, the venue holds 1,000 guests for receptions. There is also seating for 200, with additional standing room for 600 guests; additional standing space can be created by removing some furniture. The large space has arcade games and pinball machines, and serves craft beers, specialty cocktails, and nostalgic fare with a twist. Menu items include kimchee deviled eggs, Alaskan cod fish sticks, and a TV-dinner-inspired Salisbury steak with sweet corn succotash.
Cowshed Spa opened at Soho House Chicago in August. On the ground level of the six-story hotel and private members' club, the West Loop spa hosts "Pretty Parties" for groups of eight to 15. Planners can book the entire spa for half a day or during evening hours. Guests get their choice of two mini treatments from options that include pedicures, back massages, or facials. The venue can provide small bites, wine, and champagne. Staffers can also arrange for groups to have sit-down dinners at the hotel's on-site restaurant, Pizza East.
