While Sugar Factory remains in legal limbo, two other new eateries coming to Rosemont entertainment district
While the future of the shuttered Sugar Factory restaurant site in Rosemont is in limbo, plans are moving forward for two other new dining spots in the Parkway Bank Park entertainment district.
Saltwater Coastal Grill — a Mediterranean-inspired, nautical-themed eatery offering fresh seafood and sushi — closed after three years in early August. Owners are now completing interior renovations to rebrand and retool into Nisi Greek Grill, officials announced Monday.
It will be the third concept for Lyons Group since the Boston-based restaurateurs in 2012 opened Five Roses Pub, which was among the first venues in the entertainment district.
Lyons, which has owned the building since 2022, will sublet to Forte Hospitality Group, the same entity behind the recently announced, yet-to-be-named contemporary Greek restaurant coming to The Grove at Bloomingdale. Forte is also opening Ethos Taverna on Elmwood Park’s North Avenue restaurant row.
Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens said Lyons is a good restaurateur, but believes the company “took the eye off the ball,” and he suggested they lean more heavily into Greek dishes.
“How can you have a Greek restaurant and not have saganaki?” Stephens said at a village board meeting Monday, when trustees approved spending $300,000 to help the new restaurant with remodeling and signage.
Most of that is a loan Lyons will only have to pay interest on for 18 months, followed by a balloon payment at the end.
Nisi Greek Grill could open as soon as the end of this month, Stephens said.
“All of opa, saganaki, and I can’t wait,” he exclaimed.
On the other end of the entertainment district, the board inked a $6 million contract with Nicholas Construction for upgrades to a village-owned building that will pave the way to the previously-announced Chubby Cattle BBQ restaurant.
Set to feature tableside, communal dining and all-you-can-eat Wagyu beef, Chubby Cattle is being built out inside most of the first floor of a former Harley-Davidson dealership that operated there from 2019 to 2024.
The Japanese barbecue chain that started in Los Angeles in 2023 operates a location in Chicago’s Chinatown, and is set to open another one soon at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. The Rosemont restaurant is set to open in spring 2027.
On the top floor of the two-story brick building, the Chicago Wolves plan to relocate their team offices from Glenview.
Also Monday, the Rosemont board formally repealed special use zoning approvals for Sugar Factory, the dessert-focused restaurant/bar/candy store that closed in March. The 7,000-square-foot venue is subject of an ownership dispute and entangled in litigation between former business partners.
While an eviction proceeding has a Cook County court date scheduled for Tuesday, Stephens suggested the village could condemn the property at 5445 Park Place, or buy it back from owner Kevin Killerman, if there are further legal delays.
Stephens said he and Killerman have both received interest from prospective restaurants in the meantime.
“It’s the center building in the development,” Stephens said. “We gotta get somebody in there.”
Vincent M. Rizzo IV and his father Vincent D. Rizzo, who sued and have been countersued by former business partner Killerman, have sought to reopen Sugar Factory. The son attended Monday’s board meeting, but didn’t address Stephens and trustees during public comment since they voted on the special use revocation earlier in the meeting.
cplacek@dailyherald.com