Ocean Prime, the modern American restaurant and lounge from restaurateur Cameron Mitchell, and Oxford Capital Group revealed plans to open a Chicago location next year at the Shops at LondonHouse, located at the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Chicagoans can expect a menu of seafood and steak, signature cocktails and a Wine Spectator-honored wine list.
“We’re thrilled to open an Ocean Prime in Chicago, a city we’ve had our sights set on for quite a while,” Cameron Mitchell, founder and CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and a past recipient of the Richard Melman Concepts of Tomorrow Award, said in a statement. “When we toured the dramatic, beautiful space, looked out across the Chicago River through its floor-to-ceiling windows, and felt the energy of the neighborhood, we knew the time was right.”
The Shops at LondonHouse are now more than 50-percent leased, including Ocean Prime and Corner Bakery, which will be introducing a prototype store later this year on the ground floor on Wacker Drive. Approximately 10,000 square feet of contiguous ground floor retail space remains available for lease located at the southwest corner of North Michigan Avenue and East Wacker Drive – one of Chicago’s most heavily trafficked intersections.
The restaurant, designed by Mark Knauer of Knauer, is slated to be 12,350 square feet. Knauer and his team will create an ambiance that pays homage to the city using large scale photographs with a nod to iconic local personalities around the entryway, transparencies of Chicago architecture throughout the building and black and white paintings by local artist Lydia Cash. Metallic pillars, chandeliers and marble bar tops will also add atmosphere.
“Because the restaurant is on the second floor, we gave a lot of thought about how to connect it to the activity on the street below,” Knauer said in a statement.
With two bars and ample banquette seating, the restaurant will offer up to 350 guests a place to socialize, talk business, celebrate and more. Designed for events and corporate functions, its private dining spaces will include three rooms, each of which will seat 24 and combine to seat 72.
“The unique design and positioning of this flagship restaurant we are confident will do justice to this truly iconic space,” Sarang Peruri, principal at Oxford Capital Group and Oxford Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement. “It will be a fantastic amenity to hotel guests, existing and future retail tenancy, and the vibrant neighborhood at the epicenter of the North Michigan Avenue shopping district, the Chicago Riverwalk, Millennium Park, and the Central Business District.”
The Shops at LondonHouse, located at the foot of the Michigan Avenue Bridge (DuSable Bridge), sit amidst hotels, office buildings, the soon-to-be-open Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E Wacker Drive, and destination retail – including the recently-opened Chicago flagship Apple store. Ocean Prime will have a primary entrance on Wacker Drive and second floor internal entrance adjacent to the hotel’s check-in lobby. Managed by Oxford Hotels & Resorts, the wholly-owned affiliate of Oxford Capital Group, LondonHouse Chicago synchronizes the classical 1920s architecture of the landmark London Guarantee and Accident Building with a modernist 22-story all-glass tower addition designed by architecture firm Goettsch Partners.
“LondonHouse is one of Chicago’s most perfectly positioned lifestyle destinations – at the convergence of both the Magnificent Mile and the Millennial Mile,” Anthony Campagni, VP of RKF, said in a statement. “Oxford Capital Group and Angelo, Gordon & Co.’s transformative investment in this unique property has created a wonderful opportunity for a world-class restaurant — and Ocean Prime is sure to thrive there.”
“We are delighted to welcome Ocean Prime to Chicago and look forward to working with Cameron Mitchell and his team to execute our collective vision for this one-of-a-kind space,” John W. Rutledge, founder, president and CEO of Oxford Capital Group and Oxford Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement.