OLD TOWN — Small Cheval, one of the city's top-rated burger joints, is planning to come to Old Town.
Small Cheval's website says an Old Town outlet is "coming soon." The restaurant has applied for a liquor license at 1345 N. Wells St., according to city records.
Small Cheval boasts of being "a casual, fast-paced joint serving a stripped-down menu of essentials."
It's an extension of Au Cheval, the slightly more upscale burger bar from restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff's Hogsalt group at 800 W. Randolph St.
The menu is indeed stripped down: a burger for $8.95, cheeseburger for $9.95, add bacon for $2, and "golden fries" for $2.95. But the emphasis is also on drinks, from shakes to shots.
Sodikoff and Hogsalt have been on a run with well-received outlets such as Green Street Smoked Meats and Maude's Liquor Bar, located, like Au Cheval, in the West Loop.
Small Cheval's original outlet is at 1732 N. Milwaukee Ave. There's one in 3 Greens Market, at 354 W. Hubbard, and another is planned in at 150 Riverside Plaza. Sodikoff already has stuck his toe into Old Town with SteakBar, 1500 N. Wells St., a joint venture with Four Corners.
The proposed address at 1345 N. Wells St. isn't much to look at now.
But it does have ample room for one of Small Cheval's signature patios.
Small Cheval and Hogsalt did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the timeline for opening.
