LOGAN SQUARE — Paladar, a Cuban restaurant that's come to be known for its rum drinks and homey atmosphere, will close this weekend to move around the corner to Western Avenue.
Owner Jose Gonzalez, who also owns the popular Logan Square Mexican restaurant, El Cid, said he plans to only close down the current Paladar, 2115 N. Milwaukee Ave., for a week before reopening nearby at 2242 N. Western Ave.
'We're already working on it, so I'm expecting to open as soon as possible," he said.
The new restaurant will also be made to look as much as the old Paladar as possible, Gonzalez said, and continue to reflect the old world, pre-Castro Cuban atmosphere.
The term paladar refers to family-run restaurants often run out of private Cuban homes. And in that vein, photos of the Gonzalez family and their ancestors adorn the walls of Paladar, along with assorted china — a traditional Cuban gift — and other Cuban accouterment.
Paladar was opened for a little over a year after replacing the original El Cid, but Gonzalez said it never gained the traction he was hoping for.
"It ended up being a destination place, and I was hoping to make it more of a neighborhood place," he said .
Being surrounded on either side by the Congress Theater to the north and the VLive nightclub to the south proved problematic as well. On event nights, parking could be impossible.
"So people were kind of complaining about that, and it was just hard to make a living there," he said.
The new location will also have room for a proper sidewalk cafe, something that never worked out at the current location.
"It's going to be nice," Gonzalez said.
Sunday will be the last night for the current Paladar.
Gonzalez said he hopes to be open in the new location by May 6 or soon thereafter.
