REGIONAL NEWS

Walton Street Kitchen + Bar The Hampton Social

RESTAURANT NEWS » Mesler

Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood saw the opening of the 98-room SOPHY Hyde Park this past fall. The hotel includes Mesler, a restaurant whose name literally translates to “to mix and mingle.” Brunch enthusiasts will enjoy Mesler’s daily brunch, served instead of the traditional breakfast and lunch service. From 2-5 p.m. daily is a “Hyde Park Social” period that is followed by dinner. Mesler also offers a late-night lounge menu seven days a week, as well as room service. Official menus include options like chicken and waffles, house-made pastas, a signature burger, and various cuts of sustainably raised beef served at dinner. A 15-foot, double-sided fireplace separates the hotel reception area from the 40-seat Mesler lounge. Hyde Park’s scientific discoveries from the last century have inspired décor centered on metals, orbital light fixtures, and geometric motifs. An outdoor lounge area will accommodate 24 guests. Inside, a private dining room, complete with an outdoor patio and fire pit, accommodates up to 14 guests.

Mesler Split-Rail

Split-Rail

Chef Zoe Schor’s West Town favorite Split-Rail reopened in September following a closure for reconcepting. With a menu now revolving around Southern fried chicken and the essential accompaniments, it’s just the spot for down-home comfort food come winter. The restaurant has several options for private events: a private dining room accommodating up to 22; a chef’s table experience in the kitchen for up to 12; and a buyout that can hold up to 120.

The Hampton Social

The third location of The Hampton Social, a splashy restaurant/bar concept from Parker Restaurant Group, opened in Streeterville in September. With a nautical-inspired ambience and two patio spaces, the restaurant is ripe with Instagram moments (think: a neon “Rosé All Day” sign). At the opening event, guests had the opportunity to play “Prosecco Pong”—an activity worth asking about for private events, too. An outdoor rooftop has seating for up to 62, and the covered terrace will be available for use in any season. Accommodate up to 250 guests with a buyout of the entire restaurant.

Walton Street Kitchen + Bar

Opened in September in the Gold Coast, the 158-seat, two-level restaurant from Ballyhoo Hospitality showcases American cuisine with a worldly approach from executive chef Jon Keeley. Menu highlights include king crab, Hamachi crudo and fried green tomatoes, in addition to a creative beverage program offering riffs on traditional cocktails, like a Moscow Mule made with ginger-flavored kombucha. A private dining room on the second floor accommodates up to 40 guests and overlooks Walton Street.

PEOPLE NEWS » Rockford Area CVB has announced one new hire and three role changes. Phil Elsbree has returned to RACVB as senior sales manager, having previously been on staff prior to the past eight years working in sales at local and regional hotels. Lindsay Arellano, who has been with the RACVB since 2001, was promoted to vice president of sales and service. She previously served as director of sales and service. Kristen Paul moved from the role of executive assistant to destination development operations manager. Before coming to the RACVB two years ago, she worked in Chicago in the hotel industry for 10 years. Andrea Cook was promoted to associate director of marketing and communications. She has worked at the RACVB as marketing and communications Manager since 2013.

Sage Hospitality has appointed Caryn Granzow director of sales and marketing at The Blackstone. Granzow brings a decade of experience in the Chicago hotel market to her new role, through which she’s responsible for all sales and marketing efforts for the 335room property.

Mark Shouger is the new general manager of Hotel EMC2 in Streeterville. Most recently he was managing director of Ronald McDonald House. He has more than three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including overseeing the opening of the Wit Hotel in the Loop.

Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel has a new executive chef. Russell Shearer, who has more than a decade of experience in hospitality, joined the downtown hotel from JW Marriott Chicago. He oversees all of the hotel’s culinary operations, including Raised rooftop bar.

LOCAL WINNER

Associated Luxury Hotels International awarded a scholarship of $1,000 to five recipients to use toward their CMP certification. From the Midwest, the winner was Kelsey Kottkamp, event marketing specialist at McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago. She was nominated by Pamela Bronkema, the organization’s director of event marketing.

Katie Rozinski is now spa director at The Spa at Trump, the four-star spa located inside the five-star Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago. Prior to joining the team, she was spa manager at Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In her new role, she’ll implement creative new programming and spa packages.

Michael Jacobson was named incoming president and CEO for Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. He previously served as senior director of industry relations and political engagement for the U.S. Travel Association and officially joined IHLA on Oct. 1, 2018. Jacobson replaces Marc Gordon, who retired this year after a 21-year tenure.

HOTEL NEWS » Claridge House Chicago

The latest property from Chicago-based Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC is Claridge House Chicago in the Gold Coast. Transforming the former Hotel Indigo, the hotel underwent a $9 million transformation that resulted in the 165-room boutique property and on-site Juniper Spirits & Oysters restaurant. The lobby of the hotel is meant to feel like a living room, with travel photos taken on smart phones covering one wall. Guest rooms have the vibe of city apartments, and each has a bedside tablet for requests, alarms, room service and more. One meeting space on property, the DaVinci Room, is filled with natural light and can host up to 60 guests with catering from Juniper Spirits & Oysters.

The Blackstone

Planners seeking an off-beat creative exercise for their attendees can book a new canvas meetings breakout at The Blackstone. Dubbed “What Inspires You?” the session provides blank canvases and paint pens for teams to share or create their own works of art. When booking the breakout, planners also have the option to add-on tickets to The Art Institute of Chicago (across Michigan Ave. near the hotel) for $25 per person.

The Wheelhouse Hotel

Chicago-based Bedderman Lodging debuted its most upscale concept to date with the opening of The Wheelhouse Hotel in Wrigleyville in September. With only 21 rooms, it’s an intimate property that can accommodate buyouts, making it a good option for smaller groups that want to take over a space. It’s housed in a restored early 20th-century brownstone, and no two rooms are exactly alike. Also on-site are Union Full Board, a restaurant serving Detroit-style square pizza, and Tinker to Evers (a speakeasy-style cocktail concept) as well as a rooftop bar concept.

The Blackstone

The Wheelhouse Hotel

DESTINATION NEWS » Rockford and Winnebago County

Visitor spending in Rockford and Winnebago County reached an alltime high of $383.7 million in 2017, an increase of 8.3 percent over 2016. The increase in visitor spending put an additional 196 people to work in new tourism industry jobs, with spending now supporting 3,084 jobs countywide (an increase of 6.9 percent) and $93.8 million in payroll (up 9.6 percent). An analysis of visitor spending since 2009 shows that tourism continues to grow faster in Winnebago County than all other metro areas in Illinois. From 2009 to 2017, visitor spending in Winnebago County grew 51 percent; with local growth outpacing 12 other large counties and much faster than the set average of 35 percent.

McHenry County

The Illinois Office of Tourism announced both international and domestic travel expenditures reached $39.5 billion in 2017, which is a $1.1 billion boost to the state’s economy since 2016. Visitors to the state hit an all time high in 2017 with an additional 1.6 million travelers from 2016 contributing to an increase of visitor spending, tax revenue and local jobs. McHenry County played a role in the state’s added economic domestic growth, with $247.39 million in travel expenditures (a 4.2 percent increase) and $8.15 million in local tax revenue (a 4.4 percent increase). More than 6,000 jobs were created across the state as a result of visitor spending, with 1,720 of them in McHenry County.

Marshall’s Landing

VENUE NEWS »

Marshall’s Landing

Named one of the city’s best new event spaces for 2018 by Crain’s Chicago Business, the 12,000-square-foot Marshall’s Landing allday café has a 30-seat bar and an 80-seat private dining room inside Merchandise Mart. A venue buyout includes access to a 27-foot-by14-foot projection screen above a grand marble staircase. The charming space is accented with cuisine from James Beard-nominated chef Michael Kornick and includes a technology element great for business meetings: Servers don’t come to your table unless summoned by you pressing a Kallpod button, as to avoid disturbing private conversation.

Hey Nonny

Arlington Heights opened a 1,400-square-foot music venue and gastropub this fall that’s slated to have concerts from a wide range of music genres six nights a week. Hey Nonny will also serve cocktails and farm-to-table cuisine. The space will be open for private daytime meetings during the week, making it a one-stop-shop for post-business entertainment and dining.

TAO Chicago

Four Corners and TAO Group debuted the fifth TAO nightlife concept in Chicago in September. Located in an 1892 landmark building that was originally home to the

Terrace 16

The restaurant at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago has reopened as Terrace 16, featuring a reconcepted menu (which changes seasonally) by executive chef Nick Dostal. The new American restaurant known for its idyllic 16th-floor terrace (which holds up to 200 guests for private dining) serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. A must-try is the chef’s take on Chicago’s famous popcorn: a mix of truffle cheese, salted caramel and classic butter, alongside a menu of creative craft cocktails and excellent entrees like Ora king salmon and egg-yolk tagliatelle.

Chicago Historical Society in River North, the restaurant and nightclub occupies 34,000 square feet of space and can accommodate groups of up to 1,800 guests. Within the space are two venues that can be separated by an operable wall; the rear club features 40-foot ceilings, while the more intimate front club has a DJ booth and Asian-inspired décor. The restaurant can seat up to 300 guests and can host up to 1,000 for a cocktail reception, while the nightclub can hold 300 seated guests or 800 total.