The Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment and Development have inked a deal that will see José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup, together with Chicago’s own Gibsons Restaurant Group, take 17,200 square feet at 110 North Wacker Drive. The group will operate a fine dining restaurant, an elevated cocktail bar experience and provide catering for the building’s 10,000-square-foot event space.
“The Chicago food scene is one of the best in the world, and we are excited to partner with the Lombardo family and Gibsons group, especially in this great new destination in the heart of the city,” said Andrés.
This joint venture represents an unprecedented pairing of Gibsons Restaurant Group’s Lombardo family with the two-Michelin star Chef Andrés, combining the culinary ingenuity of his ThinkFoodGroup with the local operational expertise of the Gibsons team within the new trophy-class office tower under construction in downtown Chicago.
“We are thrilled to partner with José Andrés, his ThinkFoodGroup, and the Gibsons Restaurant Group as we continue to set a new standard for development and see overwhelming market and tenant demand at 110 North Wacker Drive,” said Paul Layne, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation. “The Gibsons team has been setting the standard for steakhouses in Chicago for decades and José Andrés is an award-winning chef as well as an incredible humanitarian—together the team will bring an array of exceptional new culinary experiences to one of the best cities for food in the country.”
Today’s tenants consider restaurants to be among the most important amenities and the joint venture will offer a full range of options designed to exceed the expectations of everyone that walks through the door of 110 North Wacker Drive. Each of the new venues—including restaurants and a 400-person event space—are designed as soaring spaces with river views, floor to ceiling windows, operable walls for indoor-outdoor space and connectivity to a boat dock on the Chicago River.
“We are committed to delivering first-class buildings that are efficient, technologically advanced and designed to enhance the tenant experience,” said John O’Donnell, CEO of Riverside Investment and Development. “José Andrés and Gibsons are a best-in-class team and will certainly further these efforts.”
Situated along the Chicago River, 110 North Wacker Drive is both the city’s tallest office building and the second largest office building to be delivered in three decades. The new restaurants and event space, together with the state-of-the-art fitness facilities, concierge program and other amenities, will create an unparalleled tenant experience.
The highly anticipated, 1.5-million-square-foot trophy-class tower situated along the Chicago River in the West Loop is now 74 percent preleased and scheduled to open in October of 2020. Anchor tenants include Bank of America, Jones Day, Perkins Coie, Morgan Lewis, Lincoln International, No.18 and King & Spalding. John Vance of Stone Real Estate represented the developers of the Class-A+ building.
