Celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless said he thought it was a tongue-in-cheek move for the New York Times to include one of his restaurants as one of the Chicago area’s top 25 restaurants. It wasn’t for Xoco, Frontera Grill, or Topolobampo, which have garnered awards and attention from Michelin and the James Beard awards, but for his O’Hare International Airport location of Tortas Frontera.
Ironically enough, that menu and purpose are what his new offering at Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, Tortazo, intends to be: a fast-casual restaurant for people on the go. Tortazo opened its doors in the front section of Macy’s on May 25. The menu consists of tortas, tacos, salads, quesadillas, beer, wine, aguas frescas and margaritas. The 1,900 square foot restaurant, which replaces a previous Bayless eatery, has indoor and outdoor seating for 50.
The restaurant’s expansion into the suburbs is meant to capture an audience that may not have the time or desire to head downtown, according to Tortazo restaurant group President Sam Lipp.
“For a lot of people, this is their backyard,” he said. Four other Bayless restaurants are located in the city, including the original Tortazo in the Willis Tower.
At Saturday’s opening and torta cutting, instead of a ribbon cutting, Bayless, Lipp, Skokie Village Manager John Lockerby and Macy’s executive Edward Metz cut into a huge crispy chicken milanesa torta about a yard in length and two feet in width. Dozens of onlookers were eager to get a bite of Bayless’ renowned food as lines went out of the restaurant and crowds scrambled to get a portion of the comically large sandwich.
“We’re thrilled to be back here and to be able to offer an even bigger menu and to be able to offer the flavors that we’ve been well known for for almost four decades,” Bayless told the crowd.
Bayless told Pioneer Press that the menu for Tortazo was inspired by what he was able to do with his O’Hare restaurant, and expanding it for Tortazo. The flavors and styles are authentically Mexican, he said, with in-house telera bread and tortillas from two South Side tortillerias, El Milagro and El Popocatepetl.
While rising food prices have increased restaurant prices, Bayless said adopting a fast casual model for Tortazo means labor costs can be reduced and tables can be turned over more quickly than the typical formal dining option.
Lipp said putting Tortazo in the middle of Old Orchard was also intentional with the company’s move to cater to captive audiences, or audiences who may not come to the mall for the restaurant, but want new options when they do come visit. Lipp added that while other malls have faltered, he sees Old Orchard as a place that people gather.
“We love being downtown, we are super proud of that store,” Lipp said, before adding that the Skokie location was a natural extension of the restaurant group.
Lipp said that business strategy is also influencing the restaurant group to open a location at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tatiana Stamenkovic, of the northern suburbs, told Pioneer Press that she has been a fan of Bayless’ food for years. “Every time I leave (O’Hare), I always shop at Frontera,” she said. “I’m happy to see a well-known chef offer their stuff in the suburbs.”
