Chez Paul

Last updated

Chez Paul
Chez Paul
Restaurant information
Established1945 (1945)
Closed1995 (1995)
Previous owner(s)Paul Contos
Coordinates 41°53′40.07″N87°37′31.11″W / 41.8944639°N 87.6253083°W / 41.8944639; -87.6253083

Chez Paul was a French restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1945 by Paul Contos, Chez Paul became famous under Paul's son, Bill. When it was open, it was the oldest French restaurant in Chicago, [1] and was only exceeded in prestige by Le Francais (which is also closed). [2]

Contents

Bill Contos died in April 1993 [3] and though the restaurant was struggling, his wife, Regina kept it open for a few more years, long enough to see its 50th anniversary.

Paul Contos opened Chez Paul at Delaware Avenue off Michigan Avenue, but moved it into the Robert Hall McCormick II mansion in 1964 at 660 North Rush Street, [1] after refurbishing the building. The steps and pillars are marble, as is the mantel in the Louis Room, which was presented to McCormick when he was Ambassador to Italy by Victor Emannuel III, King of Italy.

A replica of the restaurant's interior was used for a scene in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers . Bill Contos said of the replica, "It was either that or ship the McCormick mansion to the West Coast, and this just seemed easier." [4] A similar set was used in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off .

Chez Paul closed in 1995, [5] and the building is currently[ when? ] used for office space.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Pacyga, Dominic A.; Skerrett, Ellen (1986). Chicago, City of Neighborhoods: Histories & Tours. Loyola University Press. p. 43. ISBN   0-8294-0497-X.
  2. "Legendary Chicago restaurant closes". Chowhound. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  3. "BILL CONTOS; OWNED CHEZ PAUL RESTAURANT". Chicago Tribune . April 28, 1993. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024.
  4. Daly, Maggie (October 12, 1979). "Rosalynn will skip Carter's visit here". Chicago Tribune . p. D6.
  5. "CHEZ PAUL". WTTW Chicago. November 22, 2013.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCormick Place</span> Convention center in Chicago, Illinois, United States

McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 2 mi (3.2 km) south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows and meetings. The largest regular events are the Chicago Auto Show each February, the International Home and Housewares Show each March, the National Restaurant Association Annual Show each May, and the International Manufacturing Technology Show in the fall every other year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribune Tower</span> Neo-Gothic skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Tribune Tower is a 463-foot-tall (141 m), 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The early 1920s international design competition for the tower became a historic event in 20th-century architecture. Built for Chicago Tribune owner Robert R. McCormick, since 2018 it has been converted into luxury residences and in 2023 won a Driehaus Prize for architectural preservation and adaptive reuse from Landmarks Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Park, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

Lincoln Park is a designated community area on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is located west of Lincoln Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water Tower Place</span> Shopping mall in Illinois, U.S.

Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a 758,000 sq ft (70,400 m2) shopping mall in a 74-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Magnificent Mile. It is named after the nearby Chicago Water Tower, and is owned by affiliates of Brookfield Property Partners. As reported by the Chicago Suntimes, Brookfield Property Partners handed the keys to the project back to their lender, MetLife, owing to numerous retail vacancies following the closing of Macy's and the impact of COVID and increasing crime along the Magnificent Mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Street (Chicago)</span> Street in Chicago, Illinois

State Street is a large south-north street, also one of the main streets, in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. Its intersection with Madison Street has marked the base point for Chicago's address system since 1909. State begins in the north at North Avenue, the south end of Lincoln Park, runs south through the heart of the Chicago Loop, and ends at the southern city limits, intersecting 127th Street along the bank of the Little Calumet River. It resumes north of 137th Street in Riverdale and runs south intermittently through Chicago's south suburbs until terminating at New Monee Road in Crete, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Goat Tavern</span> Restaurant chain based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

The Billy Goat Tavern is a chain of taverns located in Chicago, Illinois. Its restaurants are based on the original Billy Goat Tavern founded in 1934 by Billy Sianis, a Greek immigrant. It achieved fame primarily through newspaper columns by Mike Royko, a supposed curse on the Chicago Cubs, and the Olympia Cafe sketch on Saturday Night Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawry's The Prime Rib</span> Restaurant chain

Lawry's is an upscale gourmet restaurant chain specializing in prime rib and the brand name of a seasoned salt blend spun off by the restaurant founders that evolved into a food products company today owned by McCormick & Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum</span>

The McCormick Freedom Museum was the first museum in the United States dedicated to the First Amendment by the McCormick Foundation. It was open from April 11, 2006, until March 1, 2009. The museum offered visitors an interactive experience focused on first amendment rights which include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, assembly and petition. It was located on Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile next to the historic Tribune Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rush Street (Chicago)</span> Thoroughfare in Chicago, United States

Rush Street is a one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The street, which starts at the Chicago River between Wabash and North Michigan Avenues, runs directly north until it slants on a diagonal as it crosses Chicago Avenue then it continues to Cedar and State Streets, making it slightly less than a mile long. One lane also runs southbound from Ohio Street (600N) to Kinzie Street (400N) as part of a two-way street segment. It runs parallel to and one block west of the Magnificent Mile on the two-way traffic North Michigan Avenue, which runs at 100 east up to 950 north. The street, which is also one block east of the one-way southbound Wabash Avenue, formerly ran slightly further south to the Chicago River where over time various bridges connected it to the Loop, Chicago's central business district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jordan's Restaurant</span> Former restaurant and sports bar in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Michael Jordan's Restaurant was a multi-level restaurant and sports bar located at 500 N. LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. Named after Michael Jordan, a basketball player with the Chicago Bulls, the restaurant was once one of the most popular tourist spots in Chicago. It operated from 1993 until 1999, closing shortly after Jordan's second retirement from playing basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink</span> Multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois

McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink or McCormick Tribune Plaza is a multi-purpose venue within Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. On December 20, 2001, it became the first attraction in Millennium Park to open. The $3.2 million plaza was funded by a donation from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. It has served as an ice skating rink, a dining facility and briefly as an open-air exhibition space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gino's East</span>

Gino's East is a Chicago-based restaurant chain specializing in deep-dish pizza. Two cab drivers opened the original location in 1966.

Giordano's is an American pizzeria chain that specializes in Chicago-style stuffed pizza. Brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio founded Giordano's in 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. The pizzeria has since expanded to over 65 locations in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The chain has also expanded to offer catering and ship frozen pizzas in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixteen (restaurant)</span> Restaurant on the sixteenth floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago

Sixteen was an American restaurant on the sixteenth floor of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in the Near North Side community area of Chicago. It was one of three food and dining options in the hotel's room service offering. Sixteen opened in early February 2008, and an adjoining outdoor patio terrace, named The Terrace at T, opened on June 25, 2009 following the completion of the hotel's construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Box Theatre (Chicago)</span> Movie theater in Chicago, Illinois

The Music Box Theatre is a historic movie theater located in Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1929, it has been operating continuously as an art-house and repertory cinema since the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldest McDonald's restaurant</span> United States historic places

The oldest McDonald's restaurant is a drive-up hamburger stand at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard at Florence Avenue in Downey, California, United States. It was the third McDonald's restaurant and opened on August 18, 1953. It was also the second restaurant franchised by Richard and Maurice McDonald, before the involvement of Ray Kroc in the company. The restaurant is the oldest one in the chain still in existence and is one of Downey's main tourist attractions. Along with its sign, it was deemed eligible for addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, although it was not added at the time because the owner objected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wintrust Arena</span> Indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for the men's and women's basketball teams of DePaul University and serves as an events center for McCormick Place. It also is the home of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everest (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in Illinois, United States

Everest was a French restaurant run by Jean Joho in Chicago for over 30 years. First opened in October 1986, it was located on the 40th floor of 425 South Financial Place, and served Alsatian cuisine. The restaurant had earned one Michelin star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian Court Building</span> Residential-retail, Chicago (1920–1968)

The Italian Court Building at 619 N. Michigan Avenue near Ontario on Chicago's Magnificent Mile was a 20th-century mixed-use building in the state of Illinois in the United States.

References

41°53′40″N87°37′33″W / 41.894498°N 87.625743°W / 41.894498; -87.625743