WICKER PARK — A fast casual restaurant specializing in gyros has closed one year after it opened on a busy stretch of Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park.
One of Covo Gyro Market's biggest fans was standing Monday outside the restaurant at 1482 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Nick Sasso, a Wicker Park resident, had planned to eat at Covo Gyro Market on his day off from teaching fifth-grade social studies and science at a South Side charter school.
The 24-year-old said he'd "maxed out" his points on loyalty reward program Belly and was planning to enjoy a free gyro from the restaurant, which offered beef, lamb and chicken gyros as well as hand cut fries and sides.
"Outside of Athens, this is my favorite gyro," Sasso said.
It was news to Sasso that Covo had shuttered, though Eater.com reported on the eatery's closure last week.
A sign in the restaurant's window reads, "We regret to inform you that Covo closed its doors for good on September 28th."
The Greek word for "to carve," Covo opened last September and was a new venture by Ted Maglaris. the owner of Prasino, an eco-friendly fine dining restaurant at 1848 W. Division St., which opened in August 2011 and means "green" in Greek.
Maglaris declined to comment on the closure, though Eater reported that Maglaris has no plans to bring a different eatery concept to the storefront.
Located about two blocks south of the Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection, Covo was the largest of three neighboring storefronts that were developed in spring 2011 by developer Steve Lipe and Jenel Management Coro, a NYC-based investment firm that owns several buildings in the neighborhood.
Lipe and Joseph Dushey from Jenel Management Corp. declined to comment on Covo's closure.
Currently, the only open businesses in the chain of three storefronts is Native Foods at 1484 N. Milwaukee Ave., which opened in August 2011 on the southwest corner of Honore Street and Milwaukee Avenue.
The three buildings at 1480-84 N. Milwaukee Ave. replaced a Burger King restaurant.
A nearly 3,000-square-foot storefront at 1480 N. Milwaukee Ave. next to Covo Gyro Market has been vacant since the development opened.
An online floor plan from brokers Mid-America Real Estate Group bills the storefront as, "Highly visible retail located in one of the premier eating/shopping districts in Chicago."
