42 Grams, One Of Chicago's Best Restaurants, Is Closed
By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 5, 2017 2:20PM
Chef Jake Bickelhaupt of 42 Grams. Photo via Facebook.
Update, 2:00 p.m.:
42 Grams confirmed the closure on the restaurant's website on Monday. "Dear friends, family and to the food community at large: I can confirm that 42 grams has been closed effective immediately. A huge thank you to all our past guests and supporters, you were our biggest champions along the way and that did not go unnoticed. To all the well wishers and concerned parties, thank you so much for your emails and text messages," read the closing notice in part.
Original:
This is one of the strangest closing announcements I've seen in a while. It's being reported that 42 Grams, the innovative tasting menu-only spot in Uptown that has two Michelin stars, has closed for business—but the closing is a little difficult to confirm.
According to the Chicago Tribune, yesterday the @42grams twitter account sent the following tweet: "We will be closed indefinitely starting immediately. Thank you to all our loyal guests and friends. It's been an amazing ride."
An outpouring of sympathy immediately hit twitter from Chicago's dining nerds.
Sorry to hear! I hope everything is well. You were one of the best dining experiences in this city.
— Brian P Moriarty (@bpmoriarty) June 5, 2017
Jesus fucking christ. An objectively brilliant restaurant, @42Grams, just closed. I blame Trump. Somehow.
— Floyd Elliot (@FloydElliot) June 5, 2017
Deeply saddened. Both of you are in our thoughts. I can't possibly imagine fine dining in Chicago without you. Hope all is ok.
— Sparrow Coffee (@SparrowCoffee) June 5, 2017
However (and here's where things get a little odd) the tweet, as well as the entire @42grams account, has since been deleted. There's no mention on the 42 Grams website that the restaurant is closed, there's no mention on their Facebook page that anything strange is happening, and neither of the owners (Chef Jake Bickelhaupt or GM Alexa Welsh) have mentioned anything on their own social media accounts. In fact, it looks from social media like diners were at the restaurant last night. I asked Chef Bickelhaupt for comment earlier this morning; no response has yet arrived.
Normally, I wouldn't be so skeptical, as restaurants don't generally announce they are closing by mistake. But because of my affection for 42 Grams (and it's importance to the Chicago dining scene), i'm indulging in a little bit of wishful thinking.
More as this story develops.
Update (9:40 A.M.): A tipster sent in some screenshots of the twitter account while it was still active, and they're ... interesting. Someone at 42 Grams has some unkind things to say about the Tribune.
