Here's a look at the best new Chicago restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this fall. These new and renovated Chicago venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
The Estate by Gene & Georgetti opened in Rosemont in July. Used for weddings and private events, the space was designed in partnership with Erin Patrick McDonald and is intended to channel a personal estate. The venue's 5,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can host seated dinners with a dance floor for 300 or receptions for 600. There's also a cocktail room with vinyl, grass cloth wallpaper, and black marble floors. A 3,600-square-foot Gene & Georgetti's restaurant is adjacent to the Estate and can hold events in two private dining rooms and its Fireplace Room.
Venue One North Shore, a meeting and event space from Event Creative, will open in Deerfield in November. At the site of the former Berto Center—where the Chicago Bulls once trained—the space is 85,000 square feet and has both indoor and outdoor accommodations. Areas include a 7,000-square-foot garden, a wine room, a 15,000-square-foot main event space, and several meeting rooms. The venue will host events for as many as 1,500 guests as well as smaller functions. Executive chef Shawn Doolin will oversee an on-site kitchen and culinary staff.
Chicago Athletic Association, the 241-room hotel in a newly renovated 1890s building, opened on Michigan Avenue in May. Managed by Commune Hotels and Resorts, the venue has 17,000 square feet of meeting space, including the White City ballroom, which holds 60 for conferences or 400 for receptions, and the Madison St ballroom, which holds 72 for conferences or 300 for receptions. On-site eateries include Cindy's, a rooftop restaurant with a terrace overlooking Millennium Park, which seats 144 or holds 250 for receptions. There's also a game room that seats 120 and has a basketball court that seats 373 or holds 448 for receptions.
For the Win opened in River East in June. The 20,000-square-foot venue houses a six-hole miniature golf course (pictured) and 130 arcade-style games, as well as a restaurant and bar. With steampunk-inspired design, the venue has four private event spaces that have floor-to-ceiling windows, black chandeliers, and portable bars. The venue can be bought out to host 600 for receptions; four private suites can each hold as many as 25 guests.
Dylan's Candy Bar opened a Chicago location on Michigan Avenue in May. The candy store has an upstairs event space that holds 50 guests, as well as a café and bar that seats 50 inside and 30 on a patio. The café can also hold as many as 100 for receptions. The entire store can be bought out for events of 550; the second floor can also be reserved for events for 300. The venue can provide a photo booth, a chocolate fountain, a cotton candy machine, and custom favors and gifts.
In June, Trump Chicago opened three new event spaces. Totaling 6,000 square feet, the spaces offer views of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The 2,000-square-foot Riverside Gallery holds 144 for seated dinners, 40 for conferences, or 240 for receptions. The 1930s-inspired Riverside Room (pictured) is 1,800 square feet and holds dinners for 144, conferences for 40, or receptions for 200; the space opens up to the Chicago River Walk. The largest of the three spaces, the Bridgeview Room is 2,800 square feet and holds 204 for dinners, 40 for conferences, or 250 for receptions.
Omni Chicago Hotel completed an $11 million renovation in June. The Michigan Avenue property revamped all 347 of its guest rooms along with its restaurant 676 (pictured) and its nine meeting rooms. At the restaurant, changes include new wall art in the semiprivate dining rooms, while the menu focuses on dishes prepared with Midwestern ingredients (think Lake Eerie walleye cake and roasted-carrot hummus). The Chagall Ballroom, Picasso Ballroom, and Executive Boardroom all have new drapes, chairs, countertops, and carpets. An additional meeting room, the Van Gogh, opened after renovations and can hold receptions for 120. In total, the hotel has 8,000 square feet of meeting space.
Serving Jamaican fare such as jerk chicken, rice and peas, and rum punch, Mr. Brown's Lounge opened a downtown location in June. With design from Simeone Deary Design Group, the green-and-gold space is decorated with black bamboo, reggae posters, a record-album wall, and rasta hats. The venue can be bought out for private events; it has 85 seats, a bar, and a small stage.Â
Hampton Inn Chicago Michigan Avenue opened in the 1928 Chicago Motor Club Building in May. After a multimillion-dollar renovation, the historic building now has 143 guest rooms and two meeting rooms. Meeting room A holds 19 for conferences or 74 for receptions. Meeting room B holds eight for conferences or holds 32 for receptions. A cocktail bar called Jack's Place has 67 seats and serves Waldorf salads, deep-dish pizzas, and a signature drink called "Giggle Water." The hotel is Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certified.
Fast-casual restaurant Be Leaf opened in the Loop in July. The venue serves salads, bowls, and wraps using ingredients from local farms. With farmhouse-inspired decor, the restaurant is spruced up with Mason jars, planter walls, and baskets filled with produce and flowers. There are nine booths and eight counter seats for a total of 25 seats; the space can also be bought out to hold 75 for receptions.Â
