After 24 Years, Chicago Celebrity Hot Spot Tavern on Rush Will Close Next Week

An iconic Chicago steakhouse is closing up shop even earlier than expected.

Tavern on Rush, which opened in the ’90s, announced Thursday that it would be closing on October 26, despite saying earlier that it would remain open through New Year’s Eve for an appropriate send-off, according to Eater Chicago. The restaurant had announced in late August that it would be closing because its landlord had decided not to renew the lease.

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“While the decision to depart has been bittersweet, it’s a business and we respect our landlord’s decision,” Phil Stefani, the owner of Tavern on Rush, wrote in a letter posted to the restaurant’s website. “We are disappointed that we have to speed up our closing date. We tried to extend that but could not.”

Earlier this year, Stefani told Eater that the landlords Fred Barbara and James Banks were trying to push Tavern on Rush out of the building. Now the two are working on a new restaurant to replace Tavern on Rush once it closes, with renderings of the new space already in existence. In those images, the Tavern name remains on the facade, making it unclear whether the sign is a placeholder or whether Barbara and Banks are going to keep the name and reimagine the restaurant.

Tavern on Rush rose to prominence at a time when Chicago was a cultural center, with the Bulls being dominant in the NBA. It served as a more upscale dining establishment in a part of town that, at the time, was home to more casual bars, attracting politicians and celebrities like Michael Jordan and Jon Bon Jovi. During its quarter-decade run, it employed more than 4,000 people and served more than 8 million guests.

“As we have always said: Bricks and mortar can be replaced: Our employees are the reason we have survived the many ups and downs of this chaotic but immensely rewarding business,” Stefani wrote in his letter. “We remain humbled by your dedication to this very special place.”

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