Today in restaurant news: Yusho opens in Logan Square, BLT American Brasserie opens in River North and Tribute restaurant closes. more ›

The folks at El Ideas show a sense of humor about mortality in the restaurant industry. more ›

In case you hadn't notices, we love infographics. Here's part of a great one from The Pizza Experts. Ever wonder how all of those restaurants fare after the reality TV stars pack up and leave? Apparently, not so well. The full size graphic has a lot more information. We remember an NPR story a few years back about makeover shows. After the home-makers on the shows left town, their shoddy work and rampant destruction came back to haunt homeowners, who were stuck with a gorgeous-looking but totally unsound house. The same apparently happens with restaurants - of the restaurants on Season 2 of the American version of Kitchen Nightmare, absolutely none are still in business. more ›

Financial strangeness seems to have been the downfall of Lincoln Park restaurant (and early ampersand adopter) Kith & Kin, which announced yesterday on Facebook that it was closing. "We have to start by saying Thank You. We have had the most incredible fans during our run with Kith and Kin and closing the doors was not an easy thing to do. As of May 24th, 2011 we have officially closed Kith and Kin. We appreciate all of your loyal patronage and it truly was an amazing experience to serve you." The exact reason for the closure isn't entirely clear - there are conflicting reports from around town. more ›

We reported a few weeks back that Gioco, the South Loop Italian spot owned by KDK restaurant group, had mysteriously closed. Red Light, another KDK restaurant, had closed for good the same week, but Jerry Kleiner insisted that Gioco would re-open. He was telling the truth. The restaurant will re-open tomorrow at 5 P.M. with a new menu which includes home-made gnocchi with wild mushrooms and an antipasto assortment of cured meats and cheeses. Kleiner restaurants have been having some difficulties in recent years, so we'll see if the redesign of Gioco sticks. Here's hoping things work out this time, though with the upcoming opening of Tribute, Gioco may have some competition on their hands. more ›

The Chicago Park District, in a attempt to balance its $400 million budget, is adding more closure days to its facilities. Superintendent Timothy Mitchell said the District chose days that the closures would be "least impactful" city residents. Those days are Monday, March 7, the day before Thanksgiving, December 23 and December 30. MItchell said that the added closure days were preferable to layoffs, added furlough days to union employees and raising the levies on property taxes necessary to cover the budget. more ›

News and rumors have been circulating for months about Sola, Chef Carol Wallack's contemporary Hawaiian/American restaurant. Originally, the story was that Sola would relocate to River North, and a new neighborhood restaurant, 'ohana, would open in the new spot. The transition was pushed back a few times, but in December we heard that it was really, really supposed to happen soon. We just got the news that it's all off. 'ohana isn't happening, and Sola is going to stay in its North Center home. more ›

Earwax Café, the vegan-friendly Wicker Park institution that for over 20 years managed to survive the neighborhood's transformation from working-class ghetto to artist ghetto to upscale condo ghetto, is reported to be closing at the end of the month, according to Wicker Park Bucktown Insiders Guide. more ›

Borders, the second-largest bookstore chain in the country, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. It also looks like they'll be closing stores throughout the country as they work to restructure their debt. more ›

Yesterday, we gave you Chicagoist's best tips for surviving the impending white fluffy doom. Today, we are hearing more and more businesses getting in the act - either closing altogether or offering great deals to anyone brave enough (or dumb enough) to go out and get 2 feet of snow dumped on their heads. Whether or not a restaurant is on the list, be sure to call ahead - there will be a lot of unplanned closings. We expect this list to keep growing, so we'll update throughout today and tomorrow if anything changes. more ›

The U.S. Postal Service announced the closings of 2,000 post offices across the country yesterday and the greater Chicago area is getting hit with the loss of two stations. The stations slated to close are at 2148 E. 71st St. on the Southeast side, and 5325 W. 5th Ave. in Gary, IN. more ›

Remember when we detailed the recent saga of our former love, Mado? We thought it couldn't get any more complicated, and we were excited to settle back and try the new menu. According to Eater Chicago, it was not meant to be. It looks like the saga may end with Mado finally closing for good. Amazing - from a New York Times-lauded, popular restaurant to total destruction in less than 3 months. more ›

Annie Ricks has the distinction of being the final resident of Cabrini Green to leave the infamous housing projects. She and her family leave today to a new apartment at Wentworth Gardens, by U.S. Cellular Field. more ›

What kind of world do we live in where a bar and restaurant named after a noted baseball broadcaster and beer lover, located steps from the ballpark where he became a legend, can't stay open? If you asked us, we'd say, "a perfect world." more ›

Photographer (and friend of the site) Clayton Hauck's latest exhibition, "Such is Life:" ends its run at Innjoy (2051 W. Division) tonight. more ›

2010 has been a mixed year for Chicago restaurants. Despite some notable openings, the recession continues to take its toll as restaurants have fewer dining dollars to compete for. Metromix has put together a gallery of many of the restaurants that have closed in 2010, and it brought a tear to our eyes. So naturally, we decided to share it with our readers - either out of a sense of nostalgia or of sadism. more ›

The programmers at Bank of America Cinema sent out an update on their facebook page last week once again confirming Time Out Chicago's reports that their current run at the Portage Park theater will end after the December 18 screening of Babes in Toyland. more ›

Time flies in a couple of months. It was in early July when news broke of Brasserie JO closing at the end of August. Well, the end of August is here. Brasserie JO closes Sunday Saturday after 15 years of business. Chef Jean Joho is working with HUB 51 (and Lettuce Entertain You scions) RJ and Jerrod Melman to create a "casual and funky" neighborhood French restaurant in its place. more ›

From our various inboxes today comes news that Randolph Wine Cellars will close July 31 to make way for a new restaurant concept that owner Brenda Fotopoulos says is "the likes of which Chicago has never seen before!!" more ›

The Disney company is shutting down most of its ESPN Zone restaurants, including the River North location. No reason has been given though the economy may be to blame. ESPN spokesman Rob Tobias said, "Since their inception, the Zones have served sports fans very well. But from a pure business perspective, the economics have been challenging." Fare thee well, Ultimate Couch Potato contest and ESPN personality appearances. more ›

Chicago Business is reporting that Marché, one of the oldest crown jewels in the Jerry Kleiner restaurant empire and a cornerstone in transforming Randolph Street into one of the city's best and busiest restaurant districts, is closing June 13. Kleiner told Chicago Business, "(a)fter 17 years, it's time to do something else." But his partner in Marché, Red Light, Opera and Gioco, Howard Davis, has had to shut down Le Lan and suburban Soul in Clarendon Hills in the past two years due to the recession. more ›

The ever intrepid Helen Rosner at Grub Street Chicago went through the Grub Street/MenuPages Chicago database and found that restaurant openings in Chicago were very strong in 2009. For the calendar year, 243 restaurants opened, with big-name openings like XOCO, Cibo Matto and Terzo Piano in the mix. 153 restaurants closed in that same time span, but the bottom line was that there always seemed to be some new place opening that drew crowds. more ›

As if Healthy Food closing wasn't enough, now a diner for which we hold fond , well, we have memories of the place from when we lived up north. Anyway, it's closing tomorrow. Standee's (1133 W. Granville) was not offered a renewal of their lease, which has caused much hand-wringing among Loyola co-eds and other underage drinkers, fans of weak salty coffee and greasy food, people who can recite the lyrics to early Tom Waits records from memory and photographers who can't resist a killer looking neon sign as subject matter. The news also prompted the starting of "Save Standee's" (which we now can't find) and "Close Standee's" Facebook pages. more ›

Last week we wrote about the closing of one of the city's oldest restaurants, Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant. Tomorrow is the final day Gina Santoski will be open to the public. We stopped by Saturday to pay final respects with a meal that can only be described as epic. more ›

• Stephanie Izard can't call her restaurant the Drunken Goat, due to copyright issues with the cheese of the same name. Say hello to Girl & the Goat, with a planned March opening [Dish]
• The Purple Pig passed inspection (alliteration: it's fantastic!) and is planning a late December opening. [Purple Pig Twitter]
• Also going through the pains of construction and acquiring city permits is the planned deli for Cleetus Friedman and City Provisions Supper Club. Deli cases have been ordered; Alderman Eugene Schulter lifted a moratorium on liquor licenses allowing City Provisions to apply for two liquor licenses; and they'll have a ground breaking date hopefully soon [Inbox]

Sad news out of Bridgeport this week as Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant (3236 S. Halsted, 312-324-2724) will serve up its final kugelis on December 15. We placed a call last night to owner Grazina "Gina" Biciunas-Santoski, who confirmed the closing. "I just feel the time is right to retire," Biciunas-Santoski said. more ›

We've been receiving a few e-mails and instant messages from readers asking if the warehouse sale at Sam's Wine and Spirits was still a go, especially in light of the news last week that Binny's agreed to buy Sam's. more ›

Anyone who planned on heading to Soul Queen in honor of founder Helen Maybell Anglin needn't bother. The Chicago Defender reports that the venerable South Side institution closes with Ms. Anglin: the licenses she held for the restaurant were non-transferable. Daughter D-Ella Pyrzynski said, "Soul Queen was her legacy, and that is how she wants to be remembered. I guess you can say it will be buried with her." The family plans on selling the building where Soul Queen is housed. [Chicago Defender, via] more ›

Don't forget that a segment of Michigan Ave closes tonight at midnight in preparation for Oprah's (controversial) episode taping. Check out a map of the affected area here [PDF]. The taping takes place Tuesday and the closed area will reopen early Wednesday morning. more ›

On Monday, loyal customers of the South Loop location of Sam’s Wines & Spirits learned that the location was due to close this upcoming Sunday, August 9. The store opened with much fanfare in 2007 and included a rooftop deck and a wine bar. The Chicago-based chain spent a significant amount of money renovating the 16,000 square foot former Trailways bus terminal it was located in. The exact reasons for the close are unknown, but emails from Sam’s indicated that general economic malaise, as well as the particular difficulties in the South Loop housing market, helped lead to the store’s demise. more ›