Hawksmoor’s second US site in Chicago to open this week

Hawksmoor will open the doors to its new restaurant in Chicago on 27 June.

The restaurant in the LaSalle Street Cable Car Powerhouse building in Chicago is a 16,500 sq ft, three-storey space that was first opened in 1887 in the heyday of the city’s cable car system.

It operated cable cars until 1906 and traded as a restaurant and sports bar inspired by basketball player Michael Jordan between 1993-1999. The site was designated as a Chicago landmark in 2001.

The building features a main dining room that can seat up to 125 diners and a wraparound bar. A second dining room on the first floor can accommodate 76 guests and two private dining rooms can host a further 40 guests.

The steakhouse restaurant group’s second US site was first announced last year. It follows the opening of its debut US site in New York City’s Flatiron district in 2021.

Co-founders Huw Gott and Will Beckett founded Hawksmoor in London in 2006. The brand operates 12 sites in London, Manchester, Liverpool, New York City, Dublin and now Chicago.

Commenting on the new US opening, Beckett said: "Over the years we’ve learned to set our sights higher, both in terms of growth and of the integrity with which we want to build our company. We believe Hawksmoor has the capability to be one of the world’s great restaurant brands, and Chicago is an important step as we continue to develop our presence in the United States.

"We are just as passionate about the business now as we were when we started out 18 years ago, and we can’t wait to welcome Chicagoans to a restaurant that we hope will become a local institution.”