New England seafood chain Legal Sea Foods will open a Chicago location on the river, the company said in a news release Monday.
The restaurant will replace Dick’s Last Resort at 315 N. Dearborn St. in the Marina City Towers. Construction on the location is just starting, said Kim Lapine, chief marketing officer for Legal Sea Foods’ parent company, PPX Hospitality Brands. The restaurant will likely open this winter, she said.
It will serve seafood staples including clam chowder, oysters, shellfish, lobster and sushi.
The two-story restaurant will have private dining rooms, a full bar and outdoor seating along the Riverwalk. Legal Sea Foods is toying with the idea of an oyster bar on the upper floor, Lapine said.
Legal Sea Foods has 25 locations along the Eastern Seaboard, spread throughout Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. PPX Hospitality owns Chicago steakhouse Smith & Wollensky, also located in Marina City.
During the pandemic, the seafood company tested out a virtual kitchen in Chicago out of the Smith & Wollensky kitchen. The pickup-and-delivery location was open for close to a year and did “tremendously well,” Lapine said, convincing the company the brand had “sea legs” in the Midwest.
The company is open to the possibility of future expansion into the Chicago suburbs or other Midwestern markets, Lapine said.
“Delivering fresh seafood is a logistical challenge,” she acknowledged. “But we ship fresh seafood to Smith & Wollensky all the time, and our partners here on the East Coast are very adept at making sure that the quality and the freshness standards that folks come to expect are ensured.”
Dick’s, which Legal Sea Foods is set to replace, received a permit to open in Marina City in 2008 over the objections of some Marina City condominium owners. The chain is known for its boisterous atmosphere and irreverent service.
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