Henri Closing, Becoming Italian Restaurant

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 28, 2014 8:30PM

Photo credit: Anthony Todd/Chicagoist

Pour one out for Henri, one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago. Ari Bendersky, writing for Crain’s Chicago Business, reports the French restaurant will close in July to make way for an Italian restaurant by the same restaurant team.

Owner Billy Lawless told Bendersky the upscale French concept was too limiting for diners looking for cheaper options on Michigan Avenue so he and his team are shooting for “something more casual (that) will have more broad appeal. It's going to be really fresh."

The new restaurant, 10/6 (pronounced “ten and six”), is a reference to The Mad Hatter in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as well as a nod to the Gage Brothers building where the space is located and the Gage Brothers’ occupation as milliners. “The Mad Hatter is the most obvious millinery title, but 10/6 is more discreet. It's a whimsical name.”

Chef Chris Gawronski will create a seasonal Italian menu including a pasta tasting menu, rotating entrees from different Italian regions and specials focusing on local farmers and butchering.