Homaro Cantu Is Shuttering Chicago's iNG

After more than three years in business, Chicago chef Homaro Cantu is shuttering his tasting menu restaurant iNG. Eater Chicago receives word from reps that Cantu is closing iNG so he can "focus on his other projects as well as focus business on Moto." A statement from the chef offers little more explanation: "We remain committed to the great city of Chicago, the culinary community and our guests at Michelin-starred Moto." Cantu's statement does confirm, however, that he is still working on his miracle berry-inspired coffee shop concept. iNG's final dinner service will be tomorrow night.

It seems that in its final days, iNG was not doing so well. The restaurant was offering Groupon-style deals for its recent Salvador Dali-inspired tasting menu priced at $105 for 10 courses, $85 for six, and $50 for three. That menu was offered in a Travelzoo deal which offered the 10 courses for $99. One angry customer on TripAdvisor reviewed the experience earlier this month saying they felt "conned" into the deal and "BEWARE. I predict an imminent closing."

Employees were apparently not surprised by the closure either. Cantu says employees "did receive advance notice of the closing, allowing them time to find new job." Judging by the restaurant's Facebook page, it seems like the news may have been delivered internally last week (the last new Facebook post is from May 14.) The restaurant's website is still live, with a Mother's Day promotion on the home page.

· The Last Dinner at Homaro Cantu's iNG is Tomorrow [Eater Chicago]
· All Homaro Cantu Coverage on Eater [-E-]