WICKER PARK — Rick Bayless's Wicker Park Xoco outpost is getting closer to opening and the chef himself is taking selfies with his team to tweet about it.
"Greetings from all the staff at the new Wicker Park Xoco. Getting close to opening!" Bayless tweeted Monday with an image that appeared to be a group selfie.
The selfie has Bayless in the lower left corner and 35 workers squeezed in next to him, all smiling and waving at the camera.
The new restaurant, housed in an 1880s-era building at 1471 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park will offer cuisine similar to Xoco at 449 N. Clark St.
Alisa Hauser explains what all the hype is about with XOCO:
Early Tuesday, Ty Macko, a foreman from 41 North Contractors, said that construction work on the restaurant was expected to be completed on Thursday.
A spokesman for Frontera Grill was not immediately available to confirm when the opening would be. Last month, Eater.com reported that Xoco's Wicker Park was planning to open in late July.
Located on the southeast corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Honore Street in Wicker Park, the buildout for the restaurant began in March, shortly after the city's Landmark Commission approved renovation plans for the 1880s-era building, which formerly housed Salud Tequila lounge.
Macko said the five-month renovation project brought about 50 to 70 jobs to the area.
The Wicker Park Xoco will have a capacity for 76 people inside and 45 on a patio along Honore, where patrons will dine under a bright blue and yellow canvas, according to renderings.
Bayless has previously said the new location would be larger than the River North Xoco, which opened four years ago, and would offer table service rather than ordering at a counter before sitting down. "A bar component" with local beer on tap is planned, too.
Bayless, 59, who stars in the PBS show "Mexico — One Plate a Time," is best known locally for his Frontera Grill and Topolobampo Mexican restaurants, the latter of which again received a star from the prestigious Michelin 2014 Guide.
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