WEST TOWN — A veteran restaurateur who brought a sushi restaurant, Sai Cafe, to Lincoln Park in the mid-1980s and later expanded to Logan Square has set up roots along Chicago Avenue in West Town's East Village.
"I was searching on Chicago Avenue 20 years ago and see a lot of potential, but 20 years ago, it was too early," said Jim Bee, owner of Sai Cafe at 2010 N. Sheffield Ave. and Hachi's Kitchen at 2521 N. California Ave.
For his third venture, in June, Bee bought a small, one-story building — formerly home to Bonita Fashion, a discount clothing shop — for $285,000, according to county records.
If all goes as planned, the 1,600-square-foot eatery at 1641 W. Chicago Ave., which will feature wall-to-wall glass windows and be similar in design to Hachi's, could be ready to open in May or June, Bee said.
Bee said he was not sure yet whether he would open another Japanese restaurant on Chicago Avenue or possibly rent out the space to another restaurant.
"If it's Japanese it will be me, though a different concept, something similar to sushi but not just sushi. If not Japanese, it will be someone else, like reasonably priced but higher-end Chinese food or Italian, something sustainable for the neighborhood."
Bee, now 55, started Sai Cafe in Lincoln Park in 1986, at the age of 27, when the area was much different.
"Nobody would go west of Halsted. I wanted to; I like to be challenged. All I know is restaurants," Bee said.
Almost 20 years after opening Sai Cafe, Bee expanded to Logan Square and opened Hachi's Kitchen, another sushi spot, named for his last name. The literal translation of hachi in Japanese is a flying bee, he said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
