Celebrity chef José Andrés bets big on downtown with Bazaar Meat and riverfront cafe

It’s been more than a year since we learned José Andrés, the internationally renowned chef and humanitarian, planned to partner with local steakhouse legend Gibsons Restaurant Group to enter the Chicago market.

Together, they aimed to launch a massive project inside the Bank of America Tower, 110 N. Wacker Drive in the Loop, the tallest new office building constructed in Chicago in 30 years. At 17,200 square feet, the restaurant space was sure to be colossal, but other than that, details were scarce.

But it was clear then that Andrés was betting big on downtown crowds, especially the masses of daily Loop commuters. Of course, when the pandemic hit, the number of workers in the area dramatically decreased.

Fortunately, although the pandemic slowed down those ambitious plans, it hasn’t stopped them. Andrés and Gibsons are moving forward — with not one, but three concepts in the Bank of America Tower.

The first and most prominent is Bazaar Meat. This is the forth location of the Bazaar concept for Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup, after New York City; South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida; and Las Vegas. Like the Nevada location, the Chicago outlet is titled Bazaar Meat, which makes a lot of sense, considering Gibsons’ involvement.

The Chicago menu hasn’t been finalized, but Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas has small plates and a meat bar where diners can select appetizers like beef tartare and carpaccio. There’s also a selection “from the fire pit,” where 18 kinds of meat are cooked in the restaurant’s “fire kitchen,” which includes both a wood-fired grill and a rotisserie.

The other two projects include a cocktail bar called Bar Mar, and Joe by the River, which will be an all-day cafe along the Chicago River. Menus for both have not been released, but according to ThinkFoodGroup, Joe by the River is set to open first sometime this summer.

If that weren’t enough, Andrés and ThinkFoodGroup plan to open the sixth location of the tapas concept Jaleo in the former Naha restaurant space in River North (500 N. Clark St.). It is also set to open sometime in the summer.

As seen Chicago Tribune