The Steppenwolf Is Opening A New Café, Bar And Theater This Spring
By Mae Rice in Food on Jan 21, 2016 9:33PM
In spring of 2016, Steppenwolf Theatre will expand into a neighboring building, where it will open a new café and bar in collaboration with the team behind Girl & the Goat, plus an 80-seat black box theater, according to a statement the theater issued Thursday.
The new additions will be located at 1700 N. Halsted St., which is currently connected to the theater’s main lobby.
The café and bar’s menu will be a joint effort, created by the theater and Boka Restaurant Group (BRG), the institution behind not only beloved Girl & the Goat, but also Balena and the group's namesake, Boka.
“The goal is to create something with two identities: an artisanal coffee shop with a menu created by Chef Chris Pandel, and a bar that evokes the spirit of O'Rourkes,” said Kevin Boehm of BRG.
Interior designer Karen Herold, who also designed Girl & the Goat, says the Steppenwolf café and bar area will evoke an artist’s loft, and will feature “a centrally located square bar made with reclaimed steel.”
Meanwhile, the black box theater will host experimental programming that evokes Steppenwolf’s roots.
“Steppenwolf started as a group of friends performing risk-taking work in a small basement space in Highland Park,” the theater’s artistic director, Anna Shapiro, said in the statement. “This new theater space echoes those beginnings, providing opportunities for our ensemble members to experiment… without the pressure and restrictions of a mainstage run. It also opens the door to new, diverse artists, companies and a variety of performance styles.”
With the planned additions, the theater would look roughly like this artistic rendering from the theater's website:
