Summit Design + Build LLC recently completed City Winery Chicago, a fully operational urban winery and tasting room, restaurant with outdoor wine garden, concert hall and private event space at 1200 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop.
City Winery Chicago, dubbed City Winery 2.0, is the first offshoot of music and wine impresario Michael Dorf’s award-winning City Winery located in New York’s SoHo neighborhood since 2008. The Chicago location opened its doors on August 14.
The 1200 W. Randolph building, a former refrigerated food distribution warehouse built in the early part of the 20th century, was renovated into a contemporary winery and hospitality facility. The project team respected the existing building’s old brick and timber construction, while adding 5,000 square feet of new construction in the form of a two story addition within the site’s existing courtyard. The new addition keeps with the feel of the existing building while incorporating a 30-foot high modern glass curtain wall that showcases views of the building from both inside and out. City Winery’s new 33,000-square-foot facility features three full service bars, two kitchens, three fireplaces, two private meeting rooms, and an enclosed paved courtyard for outside dining and/or private parties.
The facility has a total capacity of 820 occupants, 432 of which can be seated in the intimate venue space. The acoustically soundproofed venue comes fully equipped with a raised stage, a state of the art theatrical audio/video system, a full height glass wall showcasing the stocked wine barreling facility and a two-tiered seating area for VIP patrons. The new 800-square-foot kitchen has the ability to serve both a packed house in the venue and the restaurant all at one time.
Summit Design + Build’s David Brown, project manager, and Chuck Schmidt, superintendent, were responsible for the onsite construction of City Winery Chicago. New York-based Christopher Warnick Architecture provided architectural services and Phillip Katz of Wisconsin-based Phillip Katz Project Development was the designer and owner’s representative for the project.
