Fatpour Tap Works, a combined indoor/outdoor space with a dining room, bar, outdoor patio, 20 TVs, and 20 beers on draft, opened its doors at its Lincolnwood location at District 1860 on April 25. It’s the third location for the restaurant, with locations near the McCormick Place Convention Center and in Chicago’s Wicker Park.
Owner Erik Baylis said the restaurant serves modern American food on a menu with salads, flatbreads, sandwiches, burgers, traditional entrees and desserts. The Lincolnwood location at 7244 Lincoln Avenue will be able to seat up to 300 people, hold private parties, and offer family-friendly and business-friendly environments in its 10,000-square-foot space.
“Our mission statement is to treat everybody like they’re walking into your own home,” said Baylis.
He said the restaurant would be split into four sections: the family-friendly dining room, the bar section, a pub table section a more business-friendly area that can serve as a private party room, dining room or space for professional meetings. Baylis also called that 600-square-foot room “a date night spot,” which can allow for adults to sit in a kid-free zone.
Chef Jim Heflin comes to the restaurant with 25 years of experience having worked at Emilio’s Tapas, and at Italian and French restaurants. Heflin told Pioneer Press he wanted to stay true to American classics like pretzels and nachos, but also wanted to expand to entrees and flatbreads which include steaks, crab cakes and chicken and sausage cavatappi.
“We’re having some fun, but in a little bit more of a grown up way from our far heydays,” he said.
Heflin said the appetizers, which include nachos, cheese curds, sliders and chicken wings, are around the $10 range. The flatbreads, salads, burgers and sandwiches hover around the $15-$20 range and and the filet mignon, New York strip and ribeye steaks are in the $50 range.
On the bar side of the restaurant, Baylis said there will be a wine list, cocktail menu and 20 beers on tap, 12 of which will change on a monthly basis. Baylis said he looks forward to working with local breweries to serve their products as well. He said the bar will also be open two hours later than the kitchen, except for Sundays when the kitchen closes at 10 p.m. and the bar closes at 11 p.m.
Baylis said Lincolnwood caught his eye because he anticipates the area to be a lot more active with commerce. In the year since District 1860 opened its doors, the former site of the Purple Hotel was turned into a mixed use development with hundreds of luxury apartments, a LensCrafters, Fat Rosie’s and a Davanti Enoteca.
