WEST LOOP — A Minneapolis-based lobster restaurant plans to open its second location in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.
The "coastal and casual" Smack Shack plans to open a second location in the 1K Fulton development in early 2016, confirmed Josh Thoma, Smack Shack chef and co-owner. The new restaurant will be located in the northeast corner of the development next to new Boka Group and B. Hospitality steakhouse Swift & Sons.
Thoma is partnering with Chicago-based Four Corners Tavern Group to open the new spot. Four Corners is owned by Andy Gloor and Matt Menna, principals at Sterling Bay, the development firm that developed the 1K Fulton building.
"We're really excited. It's an unbelievable opportunity for us and Chicago is such a great market," Thoma said this week. "The opportunity to work with Four Corners was something that we couldn't pass up."
Smack Shack, a Minneapolis-based restaurant, plans to open its second location in the 1K Fulton development in the West Loop. [Smack Shack Facebook]
Ryan Indovina, director of Four Corners Tavern Group, said the restaurant group would continue to invest in restaurateurs moving forward.
"Part of the Four Corners Tavern Group expansion strategy moving forward will be investing with other successful operators like Smack Shack and Swift & Sons," Indovina said.
Smack Shack's menu features traditional coastal fare, including lobster boils, po' boys, oysters and clam chowder, and creative seafood items like lobster guacamole, lobster corn dogs and a lobster-stuffed burger.
Construction on the restaurant at 1000 W. Fulton will begin soon, Thoma said. Once it opens, he plans to be at the Chicago restaurant four days a week.
Before opening a brick-and-mortar location in February 2013, Smack Shack operated as a food truck and through a partnership with The 1029 Bar in Minneapolis.
The fare was featured on the Food Network TV show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" in 2010.
Sterling Bay's 1000 W. Fulton Market development is also known as the Google building, a nod to one of the building's main tenants.
Four Corners Tavern Group also operates WestEnd in the West Loop.
The 1K Fulton development in the West Loop, where tech giant Google will be a main tenant. [Sterling Bay website]
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