South Loop New Bars and Restaurants: Openings and Delays

Tony Smith lives a few blocks from 1520 S. Wabash Ave. At a September preview night for Martini Lounge, he told Block Club he was glad to see the space reopen. He also noticed that the Miles Davis portrait from M Lounge, the bar that held that address for 20 years, was still on the wall. Former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije took over the bar in fall 2025 and opened it under its new name in mid-September 2026. Former M Lounge DJs now play Friday sets there.

In January, Martini Lounge was scheduled to open in March. The six-month gap is typical of this corner. A handful of blocks around Wabash Avenue, 16th Street and Michigan Avenue are filling in with businesses from one owner, Idonije's Pangea Restaurant Group, and nearly every date attached to them has moved. The reason has a lot to do with how he says he wants to build.

Three Doors Open Now, Within a Few Blocks

The open part of the cluster is small and close together. Here is what you can walk to this week, with the hours each business currently posts.

• Martini Lounge, 1520 S. Wabash Ave. Open Thursday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Beverage director Luke DeYoung, formerly of Oliver's and Buttercup, runs a 12-drink menu split into Classic Martinis and Disco Martinis. There is no kitchen. Snacks are limited to chips and dip at $10 and olives and nuts at $12, and Idonije has said he hopes to add popcorn.
• Buttercup, 75 E. 16th St. A cafe and amaro bar that opened in fall 2025, serving baked goods in the morning and Italian-leaning plates like a truffle pizzetta and charcuterie in the evening. Current hours run 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. That is a longer day than its launch schedule of 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the cafe and 4 p.m. to midnight for the bar.
• The Staley, 1736 S. Michigan Ave. The sports bar is open 3 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. It keeps separate game-day, brunch, dinner, happy-hour and children's menus. The dinner menu dated September 25, 2026 includes birria nachos, hush puppies, pizzas and wings. During the Bears' 2025 playoff run, The TRiiBE found Idonije walking the room taking photos with patrons before both playoff games.

Together these three cover a full day. Buttercup's cafe opens at 8 a.m., The Staley picks up in the afternoon, and Martini Lounge serves until 2 a.m. on the four nights it's open.

Every Announced Date Has Moved

The projects still in development tell the same story as Martini Lounge. Here is how each target compares with the most recent reporting as of early October 2026.

Happy's is the one many people on these blocks may be watching for. In January, Idonije said he would push to open it during summer ice cream season with 10 to 12 flavors. He pointed out that the area sits near three schools and has surprisingly few places for ice cream. Summer has passed, and the September update still lists it as a work in progress.

The hotel is the biggest piece. The developer lists it as Hudson House, a 154-room Curio Collection by Hilton property in the former Hudson Motor Building on Motor Row. Urbanize Chicago reported an interior renovation permit in November 2025 that allowed McHugh Construction to start the hotel buildout, though no construction timeline had been announced. Plans call for a rooftop pool, 6,976 square feet of event space and three food and beverage outlets, one of them a speakeasy. Chef Stephen Gillanders is involved in the Motor Row project, but no restaurant name or concept has been reported.

The Building-Ownership Plan Behind the Pace

Idonije has explained his approach in plain terms. He told The TRiiBE in January that he has more than 30 hospitality concepts mapped out for Chicago and calls himself "a visionary" rather than an operator. He also described the rule he now follows for new places:

"You need to own the dirt so you can control as many variables as you can, or you need a deal on the real estate that makes it really make sense. If you can own the dirt, that is an important part of longevity."

The same article says that wasn't true of his first restaurant, Signature Steak. Signature opened at 1312 S. Wabash Ave. in January 2024, later became a steakhouse, and closed in February 2026. Idonije didn't give Block Club a reason, and no new tenant for the space has been reported. His real estate history in the neighborhood goes back further than his restaurants. He started buying property here in 2014, including the Hudson Motor Building. Block Club reported in April that he owns two more nearby buildings but did not say what they will become.

Buying and renovating the building under a business takes longer than signing a lease, and that helps explain why this corner moves slowly. Idonije has also described the trade-off he's aiming for. "I still consider myself in training camp when it comes to hospitality," he told The TRiiBE, adding that his team is "creating a playbook." He gave Block Club the larger reason for choosing this area, calling the South Loop "the heart of the city" but "undervalued," and adding, "I think that's changing."

The Rest of the South Loop Keeps Its Own Schedule

Pangea's corner isn't the only place changing. Other businesses nearby run on their own timelines, which shows how the owner-built cluster fits into the wider neighborhood map.

On Michigan Avenue, Culver's is moving into the former Aurelio's Pizza space inside the Park Michigan Apartments at 1212 S. Michigan Ave. The city issued a building permit on Sept. 18 for interior electrical, plumbing, refrigeration and ventilation work. The 5,200-square-foot space is expected to have a patio, a second-floor roof deck and a walk-up window, but no drive-thru. Franchisee Baron Waller signed a 15-year lease in late 2025. This will be his 11th location, and as of Block Club's Sept. 30 report, no opening date had been announced.

In Printers Row, Cafe Tabeeb had a soft opening at 720 S. Wells St. in late July and planned its formal debut for late August. Owners Tahani Hassan and Mohammed Awad serve espresso and single-origin coffee and plan to offer tastings and classes.

Also in Printers Row, Reserv at 744 S. Dearborn St. has closed. Owner Gerald Joseph turned in his business license ahead of an Oct. 16 hearing with the city's Business Affairs and Consumer Protection department. The venue had opened in December, and neighbors had raised concerns about noise and crowds for months. Joseph had tried to address them by disconnecting two large subwoofers, adding security and raising the minimum age to 30. With Signature Steak gone as well, Wabash and Dearborn each have an empty hospitality space with no new tenant announced.

A Thursday-to-Sunday Route This Fall

The open spots are close enough together to make one evening on any of the four nights Martini Lounge is open. Here's one way to string them together:

1. Start at Buttercup on 16th Street. On Fridays and Saturdays its bar stays open until 1 a.m., so an early cocktail there doesn't cut the night short.
2. Walk to The Staley on Michigan Avenue for dinner. It closes at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 10 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday, so plan your meal around that.
3. Finish at Martini Lounge on Wabash. It opens at 5 p.m., doesn't serve full meals, and has DJs on Fridays.

Ordering it this way puts dinner before Martini Lounge, which matters because it has no kitchen. Idonije has also said he hopes to post an events calendar on the Martini Lounge website, so check there before a Friday visit.

When a business owner buys the building instead of leasing it, the neighborhood around it changes, from which spaces stay busy to how long empty storefronts sit. If you own near Wabash and 16th and want to know how the new openings around you, and the ones still to come, factor into your home's value, Your Home Flight can walk you through it. Request a free home valuation or schedule a consultation with Nickola Wells.