Less than a year after Etta – a highly rated restaurant with multiple Chicago locations – signed a deal with developer Trammell Crow to take over the first floor of the new Evanston Labs building at Clark Street and Orrington Avenue, its Evanston future appears dead in the water.
David Pisor, the owner of Etta Collective, a restaurant group that oversees Etta’s operations in Chicago and Arizona, abruptly closed his River North location in January, then filed for bankruptcy on his remaining restaurants in February.
At the time, Eater Chicago reported that Etta Evanston was “on hold.” But City Manager Luke Stowe’s weekly report released Friday, April 19 denotes Etta’s food establishment license application, filed in October 2023, as “VOID.”
That Eater story, published in mid-February, quotes an anonymous source familiar with Chicago-area construction and design contracts who described Pisor as having “open tabs all around the city.” Engineers and architects about to begin work on the Evanston Labs Etta location this winter had not yet been paid, according to Eater, and “parties are pulling out of the project.”
According to Illinois Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings reviewed by the RoundTable, Pisor owes thousands of dollars to dozens of creditors for each of his restaurants, including a total debt of more than $1 million each on his restaurant collective, Etta River North and Etta Bucktown. He also owes half a million dollars to baker Aya Fukai for a bakery they co-owned together, Aya Pastry.
Pisor, and Etta, accrued debt from some of the Chicago area’s biggest food suppliers, like Sysco and Slagel Family Farm. He also owes hundreds of thousands to banks and lending companies, among others.
A spokesperson for Trammell Crow, and several associates in charge of finding tenants for the Evanston Labs development, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the RoundTable sent since February. Pisor also did not respond to emails and phone calls.
“The Etta restaurant concept will occupy the 6,808-square-foot ground-floor retail space at the building, which broke ground earlier this year,” a Trammell Crow press release from June 2023 said. “Once complete in Spring 2024, Evanston Labs will deliver 177,575 square feet of Class A advanced sciences space to Chicago’s North Shore submarket. Etta is planning to open the neighborhood eatery during Summer 2024.”
It’s unclear if Trammell Crow has found a replacement for Etta, or where the process of recruiting tenants stands, but, as predicted last summer, the exterior of the 10-story building is largely complete.
B-K out. McDonalds out. They did good business, ‘food police’/aldermen push out busy restaurants out. I went to B-K almost daily–others ‘zero’ since B-K closed. Good goiong city government !
Maybe the ground floor could hold a luxurious and spacious new Burger King.
Great reporting Duncan!
Now would love to read a story on economic development and mayor biss doing everything they can including making a new low priced liquor license for markets (much lower cost then what jewel and Trader Joe’s have to pay) to bring foxtrot in to the old varsity theater space. It’s ironic that Andersonville successfully kept foxtrot out because they knew foxtrot would be bad for the community (and rightfully so) when we are bending over to welcome them. Now they are closing all of their stores. Great work again EDC! Only
Also – I have heard from a friend in real estate that NU already has plans to “buy” Evanston Lab’s or more realistically it was built specifically for them and will be taken off the tax roll when they take ownership so they probably don’t care about filling the ground floor.
Again – ace work Mayor Biss and EDC.
Here is the latest on foxtrot – https://www.chicagobusiness.com/retail/doms-foxtrot-closing-stores
Not going to be Foxtrot.
https://www.foodandwine.com/foxtrot-market-doms-kitchen-chapter-7-bankruptcy-8637964
Foxtrot was to be the lead tenant for the varsity theater and would have had the largest frontage in downtown.
One more illustration of our leaders being total rubes who think they are masterful negotiators. After bending over backwards to make special accommodations to both ETTA and Foxtrot Mayor Biss and Paul Zalmezak are 0 for 2.
It’s important to state that Evanston tried to attract Foxtrot after Andersonville successfully said no thanks to them as it was clear they would not be good for the fabric that makes that a community of excellent small businesses. We should have done the same.