Rick Bayless to Expand Chicago Restaurant Empire

It appears that Frontera Grill/XOCO/Topolobampo chef Rick Bayless is currently negotiating a lease for a 8,000-square-foot space in Chicago's quickly gentrifying West Loop. Chicago Real Estate Daily reports that there are several other chef-restaurateurs who are "well-established" in the area, including Gilt Bar's Brendan Sodikoff, Top Chef Stephanie Izard of Girl and the Goat, and Alinea/Next/Aviary chef Grant Achatz and Graham Elliot. If Bayless does in fact use the space for a new restaurant, it would be his first "major retail restaurant project" in Chicago since XOCO back in 2009.

· Rick Bayless Plans West Loop Restaurant [CRED via Eater Chicago]
· All Rick Bayless Coverage on Eater [-E-]