Chicago Restaurant Vets Join Forces on The Evie

A team of longtime Chicago restaurant personalities joined forces to present The Evie, a brand new take on elevated dining at 535 North Michigan Avenue, slated to open doors in June 2023. Taking over a prominent restaurant location (the former 7,000 square foot Bandera space) on the heart of the Magnificent Mile, the team is helmed by George Archos, the entrepreneur behind Wildberry Café and CEO of cannabis company Verano Holdings. Joining Archos is Partner Nick Nitti, owner of several Chicago restaurants including Forno Rosso (West Loop & Dunning), Lucia Rose, and Cucina 3 Italian, as well as Executive Chef Phil Rubino, an established fixture in Chicago’s restaurant scene who has worked at celebrated restaurants such as Spiaggia, L2O, Cicchetti and more. The three industry veterans are all born and raised in Chicago and have been working in area restaurants throughout their careers. 

The Evie, which is named after Archos’s daughter and mother, will present all-new lunch and dinner offerings to downtown Chicago diners, including sushi, prime steaks and Classic American dishes such as seasonal fish, pastas, burgers, salads and sandwiches, as well as a lively bar scene and destination to grab a classic cocktail or bottle of wine. As the owner of the Wildberry Café, which has successful locations at the Prudential building on Millennium Park and at Chicago’s historic Water Tower, as well as a resident of Michigan Avenue himself, Archos knows the potential of downtown Chicago dining and aims to bring The Evie to fill the niche of locally-owned, independent restaurants to this area of the city.

“As someone who lives and works downtown, there’s plenty of dining options, but the majority of restaurants, especially right on Michigan Avenue, are big-box chains, fast-casual spots, or venues owned by out of market operators,” says Archos. “I started working in Chicago restaurants with my dad at our family-owned eateries when I was just a kid. We have one of the most incredible independent restaurant scenes in the world in this city, and some of the best hospitality you’ll ever find. Between the growing number of residents living downtown, returning tourists and the hospital campus, we’re thrilled to bring a Chicago-owned addition to one of the most iconic stretches of real estate around.”