Climate change

Restaurateurs are putting the brakes on impending projects, with some pulling the plug. Last year, there was a lot of buzz about various celebrity chefs descending upon Chicago to expand their empires, but now that the reality of belt-tightening has hit, a handful of them have backed out. Most notably, Chicago isn’t likely to see Terrance Brennan anytime soon (a Michigan Avenue outpost of his Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro in NYC was supposed to open this year); ditto for Govind Armstrong, who was in talks to open a Chicago spin-off of his Table 8 in L.A. but pretty much put the kibosh on the idea. Even the seemingly solid cupcake market doesn’t look as promising for the L.A.-based chain Sprinkles—it was slated to hit Chicago in late ’08 but has killed those plans.

Even our own known quantities are having trouble getting projects off the ground. After nearly three years of working on his magnum opus, Jackson Park Bar & Grill, Jason Paskewitz has pulled the plug. “This isn’t the time for fancy restaurants,” Paskewitz says. “We still needed more money to get open and then what? We’re going to open a fancy restaurant with $30 entrées? I’m doing a casual neighborhood place instead, more my style, with affordable options for everybody.” (His Gemini Bistro is slated to open in Lincoln Park in April.)

Likewise, Dale Levitski (best known to some as runner-up on Top Chef season three) has been working on his West Loop restaurant Town & Country for more than a year now and still doesn’t have his foot on the gas. “This economy is killing people,” Levitski says. “It’s going to be a bloodbath this winter, so we’re just hoping to wait it out. We’re in no hurry to get open. I mean, I’m broke as hell, but we just have to wait.”

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