June 7, 2009 – If Dick’s Last Resort at Marina City was a child, it would be a seven-month-old baby – able to recognize faces, feed itself, and play repetitious games. But not ready to take its first steps.

And while pleased with its development during this crucial first year, the parents of Dick’s Last Resort are still hoping to give their baby away – perhaps as soon as its first birthday.

“Dick’s is doing very well,” says DLR manager Richard Fulghum, who took over from Albert Shelton earlier in the year. “We’re thrilled with this location. We got our patio open now and that’s a huge asset to the restaurant. It looks nice. It gives you a very unique view of Chicago because it does hang right onto the river.”

The patio is where the south wall used to be. Last July, much to the dismay of fans of architectural consistency, the wall was moved back eight feet to create an outdoor dining area, accessible through three eight-foot-wide retractable doors. (Left) Southwest corner of Marina City commercial platform in March 2008.

Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin called it a “wart.” In his June 4 Cityscapes column, he said the patio at Dick’s “interrupts the sweep of windows that is supposed to make Marina City’s plaza resemble a wafer of concrete floating above the river. And the roll-up doors at Dick’s look like they belong in a fire station.”

But Fulghum is still proud of his patio. “It’s all-weather, too,” he notes. “One thing that surprises us is you can sit out there when it rains – as long as we’re not talking about a major storm – it’s very pleasant.”

Following a construction period that can only be described as arduous – opposition from the condo board at Marina City, static from the Alderman’s office, a Stop Work Order from the Department of Buildings, an article by the Chicago Tribune suggesting widespread opposition by residents – Dick’s opened on October 30, 2008. Residents were quickly pacified with free food, followed by seven months of relatively peaceful co-existence.

Neither Fulghum or Marina City Online is aware of any serious noise complaints. While live bands can clearly be heard near the mailboxes in the evening, they are rarely heard anywhere else.

Fulghum says he has listened from the nearby Dearborn Street bridge and the parking ramp above Dick’s and cannot hear the bands. The retractable doors, often called “garage doors,” are rolled up at 7:00 p.m. “We’ve been very conscious about making sure that we keep the garage doors closed after a certain time.”

In the hospitality industry, where location is everything, Fulghum is pleased with Marina City. “We’re just so much more relevant to downtown Chicago.”

In an average week, Dick’s serves between 8,000 and 9,000 people. Customers are a mix of regular customers, tourists, and people “who just wander in the door because they’re looking for a place to eat.”

Although the privately-owned company would not quantify sales, Fulghum says business is good.

“Our sales are up from last year, and considerably. We’re very encouraged by what we’ve seen so far based on what we know we’ve done in the past. When the tourist season really kicks in – we really get the June, July, and August traffic here in Chicago – if what we’ve seen so far is an indication of where we’re going to go in the next three months, that’s going to be very good for us.”

Last December, Dallas entrepreneur Steve Schiff sold his company and all but one location, the one at Marina City, to a group of investors that included Nashville restaurateur Edwin (Ted) Moats, Jr. Moats is co-founder of Logan’s Roadhouse, a chain of casual restaurants based in Nashville. For now, Schiff still owns the Marina City location, but Moats and his group are five months into an 18-month option to buy.

The new owners of DLR Restaurants manage the Marina City location from new headquarters in Nashville. “But it’s kind of a dual partnership,” says Fulghum. “They manage us but ultimately Steve Schiff has the final word on everything.” (Left) Steve Schiff, owner of Dick’s Last Resort at Marina City.

Fulghum believes the Marina City location will be sold to the new owners around the first of next year. “There’s no timeline on it, other than the conditions of the option that they have. I would expect, once we really get through the busy season and things calm down, that probably in October and November, when they have a chance to really kind of see almost one full fiscal year, that decisions will start being made then.”

He’s confident sales will continue to fatten, making Dick’s attractive to the new owners. “The numbers are going to be there. That’s the thing that I feel good about. We’re talking about being in a pretty crappy economy right now. There are not a lot of businesses that can say they’re up in sales from where they were last year. We’re up considerably. That’s just more encouraging for 2010 and 2011 because we’re up in a bad economy. When things get turned around and people get out and about more, that’s more potential sales for us.”

Residents generally supportive of “sassy” neighbor

While Marina City residents, who get a 15 percent discount at Dick’s, make up a “marginal” percentage of customers, Fulghum says he still does “a fair amount of business” with them. “I see a lot of people who pop in here for a beer before they go upstairs. Last week, the elevators were down, people came in [and figured], ‘if I can’t get up to my apartment, I guess I’ll sit down and have lunch.’”

“We’ve seen a lot of support from the residents,” he says. “Now that we’re here a little while, everybody’s like, ‘oh, it’s not such a bad thing.’ And it’s not. We really want to be a good neighbor to the building [and] to the neighborhood. And having a healthy business in the building can only be a good thing.”

Fulghum came to Dick’s from Restaurants-America, owner of Bar Louie and restaurants considered mid-to-upscale – “what you would call a more formal style of service” than at Dick’s Last Resort. He worked in the financial district of downtown Chicago. “It was a different experience and a different clientele.”

But hospitality is hospitality, he says. “Your goal is the same, period. Get people in. Show them a good time. Give them good food, give them good service. Have them walk out the door and want to come back. How that is achieved at Dick’s is a little different than your standard rules because people’s expectations walking in the door are a lot different. They don’t come in here for the ‘hi, how are you this evening, sir, can I get you another cocktail.’ They’re coming in here for the loud, abrasive, sassy – however you want to put it – and people have different levels that they’re looking for, too, and we do a good job of trying to read that.”

Both critics and fans would say the food at Dick’s is served with an “in your face” attitude. According to Fulghum, “One of the biggest complaints that we got in 2008 was, ‘my server didn’t treat me rude enough.’”

He says it’s a fine line, trying to be entertaining and not outright rude. “Especially in a very politically correct society. Even people coming into Dick’s who are familiar with the concept, what’s funny to one person is not going to funny to another person.”

He says the servers do a “really good job” of sizing up customers to determine their comfort level for silly paper hats and good-natured abuse. “I enjoy this concept because when it works well, it’s just fun. When people go out to eat, they want to have a good time. They want to have good service. And when I’m in here and people are laughing, ‘high-fiving’ the host on the way out, and hugging the server, that’s a good thing. People have come in here and had a good time and they’ve taken it out in the world with them.” (Left) Dick’s Last Resort manager Richard Fulghum is interviewed live by WGN-TV feature reporter Ana Belaval for a segment of WGN Morning News on February 21, 2009.

Fulghum says what he likes most about Dick’s is the independent, creative spirit. “And it’s not that the rules don’t apply to us – that’s an impression a lot of people get and that’s not true. We couldn’t stay in business if we didn’t have a professional work ethic. But it’s the creative and independent spirit, like, ‘anything goes, as long as nobody gets hurt and everyone’s having a good time.’ That’s really what I like. That’s what’s really driven Dick’s over 20 years.”

DLR architect responds to Tribune criticism

Meanwhile, the architect behind the renovation at Dick’s Last Resort says he has created a space in which people can enjoy and appreciate the city – without compromising the aesthetic of Marina City.

Walter J. Hainsfurther, president of Kurtz Associates Architects in Des Plaines, Illinois, says Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin “makes a good point” about the view from the restaurant, overlooking the Chicago River, being “splendid.”

“Our goal was to create a space that Dick’s ‘friends’ could enjoy and appreciate all the city has to offer,” says Hainsfurther. “Most people I know didn’t even realize the facade changed until it was pointed out to them. Obviously, Blair knows what to look for, and that is ok. In this case, I believe that Dick’s brings a vitality to the complex that was missing. I hope that our work is better than the ‘billboard’ that covered the windows for years.” (Left) Walter J. Hainsfurther

Hainsfurther says as an architect, he is very interested in preserving architectural heritage. “Mid-century modern buildings pose a unique challenge, as there is clearly a great deal of disagreement within the preservation [community] on what is worthy of saving. All of us in the profession need to work together in order to develop meaningful standards.”

“One of the neat things about architecture,” he believes, “is that many people have opinions about it. I respect Blair’s opinion and what he does for the profession, but obviously feel differently about this subject.”

(Left) A Wendella sightseeing boat passes Dick’s Last Resort at Marina City on Friday. (Top) Closer view of Dick’s patio from Dearborn Street bridge. Marina City photos by Steven Dahlman.

Related story: New owners of Dick’s parent company have option to buy Marina City location