Michael Lachowicz, a respected chef with decades of experience in French fine-dining restaurants on the North Shore and elsewhere, isn’t shy about explaining why he wants to open a fast-casual Mexican restaurant near Winnetka’s Metra train station next month.
“This is about profit,” Lachowicz said. “I am not in the business of being in the restaurant business for fun anymore… It was fun and passionate for a long time, and it’s still fun and passionate, but if it’s not followed closely by a sustainable, responsibly run business, I don’t want anything to do with it.”
Lachowicz, perhaps best known for his work at Aboyer, Le Francais, George Trois and other north suburban French restaurants, is working with the George Trois Group partners Miguel Escobar and Sergio Angel to open a fast-casual restaurant at 544 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka. According to Lachowicz, the restaurant’s style will be similar to MOD Pizza or Chipotle, with disposable cups and flatware; an apparent departure from his days working at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lyon, France.
That’s not to say that Lachowicz isn’t gushing with details of the quality of food, aguas frescas made daily, and the menu’s rich flavors created by Escobar, in whose honor the restaurant is named.
“We’re going to be doing all the classics,” Lachowicz said.
He emphasized that the menu will be approachable, with the style of a “neighborhood taqueria” in mind.
“There’s nothing esoteric or difficult to explain or identify,” Lachowicz said, shooing away the notion that foie gras would be on the menu. He estimates that tacos, whether they be pork, chicken, beef or mushroom, will be in the $3 to $4 price range.
While he doesn’t anticipate having a breakfast menu on offer right away, Lachowicz said he was interested in testing the morning rush hour market with churros and hot chocolate.
The restaurant group, which also owns Aboyer, earlier in the year closed Fonda restaurant in Evanston. That restaurant, Lachowicz said, was a full service experience with a larger wait staff. It had higher expenses than revenues, and that led to the restaurant’s closure. Fondita Miguel will not have servers, and is focused more on to-go orders, whether that be for New Trier High School students, Metra passengers or people walking by in downtown Winnetka, Lachowicz said.
Lachowicz said he is also working on opening several more outlets of Fondita Miguel in the suburbs, with his eye on Waukegan for the next one. Winnetka’s Fondita Miguel will be closed Mondays and open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
