EAST VILLAGE — Hidden behind a fence and another restaurant's outdoor patio, it takes some effort to find The Cotton Duck. But for fans of fine art and food, the journey to the "polished casual" combined restaurant and art gallery could be worth it.
"We really want people to enjoy themselves and enjoy fine dining and not have to worry about being in a stuffy environment," said The Cotton Duck's co-owner and Chef Dominic Zumpano.
Named for a stretch of tightly woven canvas, The Cotton Duck at 939 N. Damen Ave. will be an art gallery as well as a BYOB restaurant, offering an "ingredient-driven and technique-focused" menu inspired by the work of a solo exhibiting artist.
Menu items will start at $9 and top out around $25.
Zumpano teamed up with a former coworker, Cecilia Lanyon, from a previous job at Lake Forest's Market House to create the venture, which will be the Bensenville native's first solo business as a restaurant owner and Lanyon's second art gallery.
Located just south of the Damen and Division Street intersection and behind Bricola, an Italian restaurant, The Cotton Duck will spotlight a new artist every three months.
Renee McGuiness, an acclaimed painter who creates "big shift" works detailing a fusion of landscapes such as immersing buildings in water — mostly in ocean or maritime scenes — will be the first exhibiting artist.
Inspired by McGuiness' work, Zumpano's opening menu will be seafood-focused, though not completely limited to seafood: "We're going to use what's available seasonally and use local ingredients whenever we can." Zumpano said.
Set to open soon but with no specific date — "We are just saying soon and will let everyone know when we get close," Zumpano said — The Cotton Duck was a culmination of a long search.
"I had been looking for a space for some time and liked the Wicker Park, Bucktown, Ukrainian and East Village area, it's very up-and-coming, and when we met Roy [Tijerina], the building's owner, who is a sculptor that knows my aunt, it was just the right space and configuration for doing this," Zumpano said.
The restaurant, which last housed a bakery in 2011, has about 45 indoor seats and 20 more on a patio. Tijerina was originally planning to do a Tex-Mex style restaurant in the spot.
Nominated for the James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest, Zumpano was most recently the chef for PM Prime, a steakhouse in Highwood that closed in July.
A recreational hockey player, Zumpano previously cooked for Wayne Gretzky at the retired hockey player's home in Arizona, as well as for Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz at Market House, making a meal for Wirtz's birthday and other occasions.
No website yet; for updates on the restaurant, follow the Cotton Duck on Twitter @CottonDuckChicago.
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