An interesting little factoid came to my attention late last night, there may be a new addition to the Chicago hotel and culinary family. And if it actually comes to fruition it will either fire up more of the New York versus Chicago debate or make the argument less debatable. What I’m talking about is Nobu Hospitality Group LLC wanting to put a boutique hotel on restaurant’s row. And of course if they are planning on the hotel, it will include a Nobu Restaurant. According to Crain’s commercial real estate reporter, Ryan Ori, the location would be at 846-854 W. Randolph St.
This would be very interesting because it would add a bit of celebrity to the city. Robert De Niro helped chef Nobu Matsuhisa bring Nobu to life in New York back in 1994, he’s the co-owner of the restaurant group and draws other actors, musicians and celebrities out to Nubo. And he’s not just a name and a check, according to the Nobu website, DeNiro has “provided creative direction for all of the owned Nobu Restaurants.” And this hotel and restaurant is not just a rumor, Nobu’s CEO, Trevor Horwell, told Crain’s, “That particular location is a location we want to be in…It’s an up-and-coming are where the restaurants are doing extremely well. It’s a young brand that we think we would be right for that area.” Well there you have it from the horse’s mouth, no word on when this will actually happen, but maybe as a preview of what’s to come, you can look at their hotel and restaurant that opened last month in Las Vegas Caesars Palace.
Source: Crain’s Chicago Business