LINCOLN PARK — Trellis, a neighborhood wine bar, opened Tuesday in the former Gaslight Bar and Grill.
The wine bar and restaurant at 2426 N. Racine Ave. is the first new project by the Four Corners Tavern Group since they opened Benchmark in Old Town and The Crossing in 2010.
Executive Chef Sarah McDonnell, formerly of Fountainhead, Bistro Margot and Union League Club of Chicago, will head the kitchen at Trellis.
"The food is a step up from fish tacos and wings," said Ryan Indovina, a director with Four Corners Tavern Group. "This is what we think an evolved quaint little neighborhood place looks like."
Most of the items on the menu will run between $10 and $20 a plate with "homey-gourmet" American dishes such as buffalo chicken cracklings, burgers, prosecco cheese fondue, pork ossa bucco, oysters, and fig jam and bacon pizza.
The restaurant will also feature a cheese and charcuterie selection to go with and extensive wine list and nearly 50 available beers.
While Gaslight was mainly a quiet place frequented by a neighborhood crowd, Indovina hopes to draw in a crowd found not only the immediate neighborhood, but also from other parts of the city.
The timing of the new eatery's opening coincides with the opening of DePaul University's new theater school, which hosts performances that are open to the public.
"We want to make Trellis a fantastic date spot," Indovina said. "It's cozy, it's intimate."
The Four Corners Tavern Group has plans to reopen Gaslight in a different Lincoln Park location in early 2014.
The lease has yet to be signed, but the likely location is a prominent spot in the neighborhood, Indovina said.
"We have a couple projects brewing, too. We think this is a real time for growth and evolution within our company," he said.
The Four Corners group also owns The Schoolyard Tavern, Brownstone Tavern and Grill, Sidebar Grille, Kirkwood Bar and Grill, and WestEnd Bar and Grill.
