amy morton
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An innovative veteran of Chicago’s restaurant scene, Proprietor Amy Morton looks to her current, critically acclaimed Evanston, IL concepts—Found Kitchen and Social House, serving farm-to- table flexitarian shared plates, and The Barn, of similar energy and a meat-centric focus— to define a chef- driven, top-level approach to food and service. A life spent in the industry empowers her with an inherent sense for hospitality and design, which plays out across her restaurants in a way that welcomes guests and emulates a sense of belonging with dining rooms that feel more like homes than eateries.
Hospitality comes easily to Morton, who grew up in the industry working alongside her father, legendary restaurateur Arnie Morton of Morton’s Steakhouses. Amy Morton learned every aspect of the business from top to bottom while garnering an old school hospitality outlook that informs her timeless ability to work a room like the attentive, beaming hosts of yester-year. Morton opened her first restaurant, The Café, with her brother Michael Morton (of Nine Steakhouse and La Cave) in 1988 in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. She went on to open her best-known endeavors, Mirador and The Blue Room, in the Old Town neighborhood soon after in 1989.
PROPRIETOR OF FLEXITARIAN, SHARED PLATES-FOCUSED FOUND & ‘MEAT-CENTRIC HIDEAWAY’ THE BARN
Presently, Morton is the mastermind behind critically-acclaimed Evanston restaurants, Found Kitchen and Social House and The Barn. Found serves Food & Wine’s “The People’s Best New Chef”-nominated Chef Nicole Pederson’s flexitarian, new American shared plates that change with the market and season. The restaurant will celebrate its fifth anniversary this November. The Barn – which opened November 2016 – is a ‘meat-centric hideaway’ with a menu that draws from Chef Pederson’s classical French training, brasseries and butcher shops: a modern meaterie with a menu featuring simple refined options, allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves and boasting several dishes with table-side service. Combining a dedication to hospitality with a knack for design, Amy has transformed a childhood dream to a career spanning nearly three decades. At Found and The Barn, Morton oversees all day-to- day operations. Her personal mission is to make a difference in her community and to leave the planet a place that the next generation can not only flourish in, but also be proud of. An active member of organizations including Les Dames d’Escoffier, Female Chefs & Restaurateurs, Connections for the Homeless, and Y.O.U., Morton extends her community support well beyond Found and The Barn. She resides in Evanston with her husband, attorney Neal H. Levin, and their three daughters, Ruby, Abra, and Taluhla Rose. E VA N S TO N W O M A N . O R G 7