February 1 opening date for Bar Louie

(Above) Tom Duffey (left), general manager for Bar Louie, and John Ickel (right), superintendent for Phoenix Builders, Ltd., of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, the general contractor, pose Wednesday afternoon in what will soon be Bar Louie #51. Ickel worked on the same space in 2007 when Amano Italian Trattoria was built. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

December 28, 2011 – Bar Louie is giving itself another week to turn a 10,000 square foot space below BIN 36 at Marina City into a local hangout for young professionals. The bar/restaurant will open on February 1, according to General Manager Tom Duffey.

The company that owns Bar Louie, BL Restaurant Operations, LLC, based in the Dallas suburb of Addison, signed a lease with Marina City’s commercial management on October 28 for space left vacant when Amano Italian Trattoria closed in March. They plan to take over the space on January 20 and start training 75 employees. At a “job fair” this week at Marina City, Bar Louie interviewed for servers, bartenders, hosts, and other positions. Interviews will continue next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Duffey showed off the unfinished space on Wednesday. Two sets of swinging French doors will decorate the west side. The interior will include two large tables for parties near the north side, additional space for private parties, “high top” seating, lower tables, a lounge area with couches, two bars, and a dining area with tables and booths that will seat about 275 people.

The kitchen will include a pizza oven. 20 beers will be on tap and beer coolers will hold at least 60 barrels of beer. The original design included a fireplace but that was scrapped.

According to a permit issued by the Department of Buildings, the estimated cost of the renovation is $675,000. That includes interior renovation to the restaurant as well as exterior work on the patio.

A food sanitation inspection by the Department of Public Health is scheduled for January. In 2011, two Bar Louie restaurants in Chicago were inspected and both passed. BL Restaurant Operations applied for a liquor license on November 7.

(Above) What the patio looked like on Wednesday. Dearborn Street is at left. A short metal staircase was recently removed. The patio is currently accessed from a gap in the railing further north.

In November, John Neitzel, CEO of BL Restaurant Operations, said the new location would complement a generous selection of bars in the River North neighborhood, including five at Marina City alone. He described typical Bar Louie customers as “young professionals.” Said General Manager Tom Duffey on Wednesday, “I know we have ‘bar’ in the name, but we’re upscale. Our customers make $75,000 to $100,000 a year.”

The most recent Bar Louie to open was in downtown Fort Worth on December 15. “Bar Louie has definitely made a good first impression,” wrote two reviewers for DFW.com, a website operated by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It has certainly packed the house during the first couple of weeks, and let the public know that Bar Louie is a distinctive step-up from [the previous tenant].”