OLD TOWN — Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo, the married restaurateurs behind the Michelin-starred Esmé, have had a busy year.
In the last calendar year, the pair were featured on Apple TV+’s “Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars,” opened the luxury Gold Coast steakhouse The Alston and expanded their reach beyond Chicago with Byrdie’s, a Southern-inspired French bistro in Louisville, Kentucky.
At the end of 2025, the pair debuted their latest in Chicago: Petite Edith, a casual, fish-forward French bistro at the edge of Old Town and River North.
Petite Edith, now open at 868 N. Wells St., translates the precision and creativity Tomaska is known for into a more relaxed, neighborhood setting.
The menu at Petite Edith is rooted in French technique, Midwestern sensibilities and a deep sense of personal history. The restaurant is named for Bravo’s mother, Edith, and pays tribute to the places and people that shaped the couple early in their careers, including mk, the beloved fine-dining restaurant where the two met while working together.
Petite Edith, now open at 868 N. Wells St., Credit: Provided/Petite Edith
The menu at Petite Edith is seafood-forward, with raw and cooked fish dishes including red snapper crudo with endive and citrus, monkfish served on the bone, mussels threaded onto skewers and clams casino made with razor clams.
There’s a Midwestern throughline, too — from a hollowed-out baguette stuffed with cheese and drizzled with fruit molasses to fondant potatoes, fried fish with smoked potato “chips,” and a dry-aged steak for diners who want something heartier.
The concept behind the restaurant, Tomaska has said, aims to offer the kind of cooking Chicago diners often associate with tasting menus, but without the formality or price point.
The space, designed by HED, is bright and warm, with garage doors that will open in warmer months, a wraparound bar beneath a statement chandelier and artwork reminiscent of the stylized opening credits from HBO’s “The White Lotus.”
Beverage director Stevan Miller, also of Esmé and Bar Esmé, built a wine and cocktail program that mirrors the menu’s coastal lean, spotlighting island and regenerative wines alongside martinis and low-proof options.
Petite Edith is open now at 868 N. Wells St.
Robert Maleski founded Milly’s Pizza In The Pan, which originally ran out of a ghost kitchen in Logan Square. Credit: Provided
Milly’s Pizza In The Pan
One of Chicago’s most celebrated pan pizza makers is heading back to the North Side.
Milly’s Pizza In The Pan will open a new location in Lakeview at 3409 N. Broadway, with a mid-March opening targeted, owner Robert Maleski announced.
The new shop will offer more seating than some of Milly’s other locations and will also serve a limited number of Detroit-style pizzas, a new addition.
Maleski launched Milly’s in 2020 after being laid off from his serving job during the early months of the pandemic. What began as a ghost kitchen in Logan Square quickly drew attention for its deeply flavored pan pizzas inspired by the late Burt Katz, the Chicago pizza legend behind Burt’s Place.
Milly’s soon became known for its caramelized, cheese-edged crusts, tangy tomato sauce and limited daily production that quickly sold out.
Since then, Milly’s has expanded steadily, first opening a storefront on Uptown’s Argyle Street, then a location in Berwyn and most recently moving from Uptown to West Town. Along the way, the pizzeria has earned widespread acclaim, including being named No. 1 in Chicago Magazine’s pizza rankings and landing on multiple “best pizza” lists locally and nationally.
The Lakeview outpost marks Milly’s return to a dense neighborhood corridor — and a chance to serve more customers without sacrificing the small-batch approach Maleski is known for.
Milly’s Pizza In The Pan is expected to open at 3409 N. Broadway in mid-March.
Luckycat Café at 2806 N. Clark St. Provided/Facebook
Luckycat Café
Luckycat Café, an Asian-inspired café from an AAPI- and woman-owned team, has opened its first brick-and-mortar location on Lakeview’s Clark Street after building a following through pop-ups and social media.
The café is owned by Stephanie Bian and Jake Lee, who refined Luckycat’s concept through pop-ups at Boonie’s, the Filipino restaurant in Lincoln Square, before finding a permanent home near the busy Clark, Broadway and Diversey intersection.
The café focuses on specialty coffee sourced from China and roasted in Chicago, alongside rotating signature drinks inspired by Asian culinary traditions.
Luckycat Café at 2806 N. Clark St. Provided/Facebook
Named after the waving lucky cat figurine often seen in Asian American businesses, Luckycat centers its menu around thoughtfully made beverages and an approachable, educational coffee experience. All syrups are made in-house, and the café offers both classic and creative coffee and tea-based drinks.
The food menu is compact but hearty, with all-day offerings like a breakfast sandwich made with housemade hot honey chili crisp, a sesame chicken crunch salad and a three-cup chicken rice bowl with braised chicken and lotus root pickles.
With the storefront, Luckycat also launched a single-origin coffee subscription featuring beans from Yunnan, China, with monthly deliveries and perks tied to longer subscriptions.
Luckycat Café is open now at 2806 N. Clark St.
Left to right: R&A Bread Bakers owners Rachel and Adam Beltzman in front of their new location, 1938 W. Lawrence Ave. Credit: Provided
R&A Sourdough
R&A Sourdough, the Ravenswood bakery that built a devoted following for its naturally leavened bagels and breads, has opened a third location in Roscoe Village.
The Roscoe Village location brings the bakery’s full lineup of sourdough bagels, breads, pastries and breakfast sandwiches to a new neighborhood footprint.
The shop at 2256 W. Roscoe St. joins R&A’s original Ravenswood corner bakery at Lawrence and Winchester and a River West location that handles online orders, pickup and catering.
R&A Sourdough was founded during the early days of the pandemic by Rachel Mann Beltzman and Adam Beltzman, who began baking at home after a friend gifted them a sourdough starter.
The new R&A Sourdough shop at 2256 W. Roscoe St. busy on a recent Sunday morning. Provided/Facebook
What started as a way to pass time quickly turned into a full-scale operation as friends and neighbors — stopping by for socially distanced tastings — realized the bagels were something special.
The business grew steadily from home baking to a brick-and-mortar bakery producing thousands of bagels a day, all made with a natural sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast.
That starter is still the backbone of everything R&A makes, from crusty loaves and bagels to sweets and cream cheese schmears. The bakery has become especially known for its bagel sandwiches, including The Youngster — a breakfast sandwich layered with egg frittata, cheddar and bacon — as well as house-made cream cheeses like a roasted poblano schmear.
The Roscoe Village shop offers online ordering for pickup, with limited hours focused on morning and early afternoon service.
R&A Sourdough is now open at 2256 W. Roscoe St.
L Station Chophouse
A new upscale steakhouse is coming to Old Town from the family behind downtown’s L Station Luxe + Soul.
L Station Chophouse is set to open next month at the corner of North and Cleveland avenues, according to What Now Chicago, which first reported the news. The restaurant will offer prime steaks and an elevated dining experience inspired by Miami and Las Vegas, owner Le’Roy Patterson told the outlet.
Patterson opened the original L Station Luxe + Soul at 186 N. Wells St. in November 2022, where the family-run restaurant quickly drew crowds with a menu focused on soul food and gastropub-style comfort dishes. The new Old Town location will feature a different menu and concept, according to reports.
L Station Chophouse will open near the Sedgwick Brown and Purple line station, a few storefronts down from Al Halal Zaiqa Restaurant.
Taste of Egg
Taste of Egg has opened on Clark Street, bringing Indian street food with a vegetarian focus to Lakeview East. The menu centers on flavorful egg-based dishes inspired by Indian street fare, with a separate eggless menu available for vegan diners.
Taste of Egg is open now for dine-in and takeout at 2850 N. Clark St.
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