WEST LOOP — Partners behind a popular Bucktown restaurant will launch their West Loop pop-up Wednesday.
AMK Group, known for their AMK Kitchen in Bucktown, will officially open Nosh & Booze, a new gourmet restaurant serving American street food and craft cocktails at 838 W. Randolph St. The new restaurant takes over the old Vivo restaurant, which closed after 25 years in business earlier this month.
Executive Chef Barney Smith, who also oversees AMK Kitchen, will serve up a mix of small to large plates perfect for dinner and late-night noshing. AMK Beverage Director Jon Ruiz offers a tightly curated craft cocktail menu with beers and globally-sourced wines.
Menu items include:
A pimento burger, featuring a double patty, roasted pepper cheese sauce, crispy onion strings, sweet spicy pickles and buttered brioche;
Ceviche tacos, with marinated shrimp, avocado, tomato, onion , scallion, cilantro and homemade crispy shells;
Tamales, with chili-braised pork, red chili sauce, sour cream, habanero pickled onions and guacamole;
Slow Smoke cocktail, featuring gin, spiced pear, hibiscus, ginger, apple bitters and bubbles;
And a boozy Bruto Cherry Cola, with Templeton Rye, Bruto Americano, cassis, rhubarb bitters and carbonation.
The pop-up will launch with lunch and dinner service and brunch soon, a representative confirmed.
In 2017, AMK Group, which includes partners Steven Tsonis, Brendan Downing and Rob Luke, plans to introduce a permanent concept that will take over the restaruant.
Tsonis said the pop-up aims to use the 4,000-square-foot Randolph Street restaurant in a creative way "instead of just operating Vivo until we closed for construction."
The partners commissioned graffiti vignettes from Chicago artist The Lie to transform the Italian mainstay into a deconstructed space with a "serious street vibe." Vivo’s iconic Table 70 has been transformed into an elevated DJ booth, where notable Chicago DJs will spin after 9 p.m. on select nights.
Nosh & Booze will be open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays; and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
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