Earls Kitchen + Bar to Open First Midwest Site this Fall

Earls Kitchen + Bar, one of North America’s most successful, family owned, independent, restaurant groups is thrilled to be part of NEWCITY, a new commercial/residential complex in the Clybourn Corridor, and is excited to join the vibrant and diverse culinary scene in Chicago.

With 65 restaurants – 59 in Canada and 7 in the United States (Denver, CO, Bellevue, Washington, Boston, Mass, Miami, FL and most recently Tysons, Virginia just outside DC) the move marks Earls first expansion into the Midwestern United States. With a concept that marries irresistible food with beautifully designed dining rooms alongside lively bars, Earls offers diners a comprehensive global menu that serves up fresh, made from scratch ingredients in a dynamic atmosphere.

While Earls has grown to 66 restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, it is anything but a typical chain. As in all Earls restaurants, the menu offers regional dishes and ingredients specific to the Chicago location in addition to fresh, new and well-loved menu items core to their other restaurants  – and as one of only nine “flagship” locations, Earls Lincoln Park’s menu will offer a menu about 1 quarter innovative to the rest of their locations.

Menu items unique to Earls Lincoln Park location include: Chicken, Brie + Fig Sandwich with sweet fig, roasted apples, spinach, garlic aioli, on rustic ciabatta, Earls Famous Clam Chowder New England style, with full cream, chopped tomatoes, parsley, a hint of smoky bacon, Leroy’s Crispy Ribs made with Earls famous dry ribs, savory and seasoned with coarse salt and black pepper. On the sweet side Earls offers a variety of delicious dessert dishes such as, The Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie salted caramel, chocolate chips, and vanilla bean gelato, The Gold Digger, Italian vanilla and chocolate gelato sundae, custom poured hot toffee, and spiced candied pecans.

The restaurant fosters local supplier relationships to find freshest in-season ingredients and Earls sources sustainable seafood, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, Aquaculture Stewardship Council and Oceanwise™ to ensure the long-term health of the greater marine ecosystem they draw from.  Locally raised, fresh Illinois chicken is cage-free, vegetarian-fed and free from antibiotics; beef is 100% naturally raised Black Angus from Creekstone Farms, Certified Humane®, free from antibiotics with no added hormones. Creekstone Farm’s beef and the ranches they source from are rigorously audited to ensure animals are humanely treated and ethically cared for throughout their lives, in every location and facility from birth to pasture and pen. Their facilities have been designed by Dr. Temple Grandin to ensure a calm, stress free environment.

The use of quality ingredients and the approachable and purposefully eclectic menu is the hallmark of a unique collaboration called Earls Chef Collective. A core team of Earls’ award-winning chefs work from the company’s Vancouver-based test kitchen and invite other high-profile culinary pros to collaborate on new menu items that reflect exciting food trends or regional favorites.

Earls Chef Collective members include Top-Chef alum Jeff McInnis of New York City’s Root & Bone; Bocuse d’Or top finalist Ryan Stone; Top-Chef Canada Zuni Café alum Dawn Doucette; Bocuse d’Or and World Culinary Olympics medal winner David Wong; Gold Medal Plates winner Brian Skinner, who also serves as Earls’ vegetarian specialist, and World Culinary Olympics gold medal winner Hamid Salimian, whose gluten-free bakery supplies Earls with flour for its gluten-free baked goods and batters. Each brings a particular culinary sensibility to the fresh dishes they develop to be part of Earls’ menus (with some destined only for specific restaurants).

Earls Lincoln Park Head Chef Chris Memme will oversee a full staff that will prepare fresh, made-from-scratch dishes that include an expansive selection of appetizers, salads, freshly baked breads and several unique menu items including: Tuna Tostadas, line caught Pacific tuna, chili rubbed, with avocado, cilantro aioli, jicama slaw, crisp corn tortillas, Grilled Fish tacos, wild Atlantic cod with cabbage slaw, pineapple chili salsa, Valentina crema, flour tortillas. Lemon Glazed Salmon, smoked eggplant yogurt, farro, green beans, spicy harissa juicy, all-natural 100% Creekstone Farms Black Angus hand formed beef burgers.

On the liquid side, Earls Kitchen + Bar’s Beverage Director Cameron Bogue, an internationally recognized mixologist, originally from Portland, offers a creative – sometimes whimsical – array of premium craft cocktails along with a fine selection of wines by the glass or bottle. His beverage program is dedicated to using only juices that are fresh squeezed in-house daily and handmade syrups, Curated craft beer selections from Chicago and Illinois  craft brewers take over the Lincoln Park taps, Old Fashions (with a dash of kitsch) and Grasshoppers. Drink specials will rotate seasonally, beginning at the fall opening with the ‘Silly Wabbit,’ a concoction of vodka, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, lemon juice, carrot juice, ginger syrup, and cardamom bitters.

Stan Fuller, CEO of Earls restaurants is excited to bring the brand to Chicago’s NEWCITY complex. “At Earl’s we believe that the kitchen is our soul and the bar is our spirit,” offered Fuller. “This is apparent in the passion to deliver the best possible experience that goes into everything we do – from the amazing food that’s inspired by our Chef’s Collective collaborative, and the sauces, dressings, breads and desserts that we make from scratch on site each day, to our warm and friendly servers and our amazing craft cocktails. We believe that Chicago’s dining community will appreciate our passion for perfection.”

Earls restaurants are beautifully designed, casually elegant environments that incorporate green building construction techniques to reduce carbon footprints well as custom lighting that integrates energy-efficiency and style. Earls Lincoln Park features an expansive three-season patio and an exterior window that provides a view into their prep kitchen.

As artwork is integral to Earls’ concepts, Earls Lincoln Park will feature custom art installations from Chicago street artist FRESH and renown Vancouver artist Ricky Alvarez, who will unveil an expansive piece that pays homage to Chicago’s deep roots in blues and jazz music. The Lincoln Park restaurant will continue to commission works from local artists, continuing the company’s tradition of supporting the visual arts.

Earls places a premium on service and invests significant resources to find and train team members who share its passion for excellence. Nearly 80 highly accomplished staffers, a.k.a. ambassadors, from other Earls fly in for a month in advance and remain for some weeks after an opening to help new recruits master customer service, operations, recipes and other skills and, especially, to inculcate Earls’ culture of welcoming hospitality so that its guests feel nourished, valued and at home.

The entrance to Earl’s Kitchen + Bar, Lincoln Park is just off of Clybourn Street, and will be open daily at 11:30am for lunch and dinner, and on Saturday and Sunday brunch will be served until 3:00 p.m. patio area accommodates X? diners and features fire pits and a partially covered area for three-season use. 1457 N. Halsted Street, (at the intersection of Clybourn Avenue and Halsted Street).

The Vancouver, Canada-based Earls Restaurants Ltd. and the Fuller Group are a non-franchised, family-owned company founded by Montana native Leroy Earl (Bus) Fuller in 1982. It began as laid-back beer and burger joint created as a local hang out in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. As Earls grew to multiple locations across the country, it also expanded its talented team. They travelled the world to taste, be inspired and bring back ideas, recipes and techniques. The concept matured to become the upscale-casual restaurant chain that has become an iconic brand in Canada with 64restaurants. In 1999, Earls opened its first lower-48 outpost in Denver, CO. A second Denver location and a Bellevue, WA Earls followed.  Miami and Bostonopened respectfully, in the spring and fall of 2014 with Chicago and Washington, DC opening in Fall 2015. Bus and his sons own Earls Kitchen + Bar, operated by eldest son Stan Fuller, along with other restaurants throughout Canada and the U.S.  Awarded “Top 50 Employer”, Earls Kitchen + Bar has 7,000 employees.  For more information, visit earlsrestaurants.com orearls.ca