Another Lincoln Park stalwart fell by the wayside when Tarantino’s closed in March, ending three decades along Armitage Avenue. The neighborhood’s restaurant scene has seen changes in recent times, and three decades seems to be a magic number. Pizza Capri closed its own 30-year run earlier this year when it moved to Avondale. Goose Island Beer Co. moved on from its original brewpub, relocating to the Salt Shed earlier in 2024 after a 35-year run on Clybourn.
As Tarantino’s wished farewell to its clientele, word spread that Cornerstone Restaurant Group planned to open a new project in the space. Cornerstone’s Chicago-area restaurants include chef and partner Bill Kim’s Urbanbelly, The Table at Crate, and Bill Kim’s Ramen Bar inside Time Out Market Chicago. Cornerstone is also known for its partnership with Michael Jordan, running MJ’s Mag Mile steakhouse, plus locations across the country and South Korea.
In Lincoln Park, the company wants to retain Tarantino’s customers and lure new ones with Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian, pegged for a summer opening at 1112 W. Armitage Avenue. Executive chef Matt Eckfeld worked with Kim, splitting about 13 years at Belly Shack (the chef’s shuttered Puerto Rican and Korean restaurant in Bucktown) and Belly Q (the shuttered Korean barbecue-style spot in West Loop). Eckfeld left Chicago for New York’s Major Food Group, working as one of the conglomerate’s executive chefs, spending nearly 12 years with its famous Italian American brands like Carbone, Contessa, and ZZ’s Club.
Eckfeld is hopeful to make use of produce from Green City Market, the farmers market held weekly in the summer, just east of the restaurant and toward the lake. Eckfeld wouldn’t spill on menu specifics other than saying customers, including Tarantino’s regulars, will recognize the food. Expect a mix of pastas made on premises and seasonal veggies. There will be sandwiches. Eckfeld is excited to pump out some focaccia, saying that while most anyone can make the flatbread, few folks can bake focaccia that actually tastes good. “There’s not going to be tweezer work,” the chef says.
Former Boka Restaurant Group pastry chef Casey Doody is handling dessert recipes with gelato, cakes, and more.
So Lincoln Park is experiencing a renaissance. Dimmi Dimmi, which means “tell me, tell me,” in Italian, should open in late July or early August. Another notable nearby opening comes near the busy Halsted and Clybourn intersection, where a group of experienced restaurant veterans is working on Brick & Mortar inside the former Golden Ox and Burger Bar space.
Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian, 1112 W. Armitage Avenue, planned for a late July or early August opening
Sign up for the
newsletter
Eater Chicago