Most of the South Loop's new places to eat and drink have the same owner. Martini Lounge on Wabash, Buttercup on 16th Street and The Staley on Michigan all belong to Pangea Restaurant Group, the company run by former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije. His team is also working on an ice cream parlor a few doors from Buttercup. The Motor Row hotel at 2222 S. Michigan Ave. is his project too. He started buying property in the neighborhood in 2014.
That's why the openings sit so close together, and why each one covers a different part of the day. The map is short. A morning coffee, a game-day table, a late martini and, eventually, a hotel lobby are all within a short walk of 16th and Wabash.
Sixteenth Street is the hinge
Idonije told The TRiiBE in January 2026 that he got to know the neighborhood during his decade with the Bears, when the team stayed at the Hilton on South Michigan Avenue on game days. He also described the gap he saw in the 2000s and early 2010s. "There were limited options for South Loopers to network, hang out, people watch and have a sexy date night experience," he said.
The current lineup reads like a direct answer to that list, and it is very compact. Buttercup and the future Happy's Classic Ice Cream are a few doors apart on the same block of East 16th Street. The Staley is just south on Michigan, and Martini Lounge is one block north on Wabash.
| Address | Place | What it is | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 E. 16th St. | Buttercup | 40-seat cafe and amaro bar, walk-ins only | Open daily from 8 a.m.; until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday |
| 69 E. 16th St. | Happy's Classic Ice Cream | Ice cream parlor | In the works, no opening date announced |
| 1736 S. Michigan Ave. | The Staley | Family-friendly sports bar | Open every day |
| 1520 S. Wabash Ave. | Martini Lounge | Cocktail lounge, no kitchen | Open Thursday to Sunday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. |
| 2222 S. Michigan Ave. | Hudson House | 154-room Curio Collection hotel with restaurant and event space | Reported for a 2027 opening |
Buttercup handles the early hours. Its site lists coffee and matcha during the day and amaro-centered drinks at night. When it opened in September 2025, Eater wrote that it was pouring Sparrow Coffee in the morning and serving a Northern Italian-leaning menu in the evening. Hours vary by day: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The current online menus include an aperitivo hour, and the menu files are labeled July and September 2026.
The Staley covers the crowds. Its site posts separate menus for brunch, dinner, happy hour, kids and game days, and the dinner and happy-hour menus are dated Sept. 25, 2026. During the Bears' 2025 playoff run, Idonije walked the room before both playoff games. He also came back after the Jan. 10 wild-card win over the Packers to thank everyone for showing up.
The lounge on Wabash kept its Miles Davis portrait
Martini Lounge opened in mid-September 2026, almost a year after M Lounge closed at 1520 S. Wabash. Idonije bought the bar in fall 2025 from Reginald and MaryAnn Marsh, who had run it for 20 years. He told Block Club that a number of former M Lounge regulars had already come by. One guest at the preview said he was glad the Miles Davis portrait had stayed on the wall. Idonije has also invited some former M Lounge DJs back for Friday sets.
Here, the bar's continuity comes from the owner keeping it, so the new version answers to a 20-year neighborhood following on its first night. "The M Lounge is a neighborhood staple. Twenty years it had been here, so to now reopen the space, it's exciting," Idonije said.
The drinks program also links this bar to the rest of the group. Beverage director Luke DeYoung previously ran the drinks at Buttercup and at Oliver's, the South Loop speakeasy. The menu has 12 martinis split into Classic Martinis and Disco Martinis, plus cocktails such as the Bronx at $17, made with pineapple gin, a vermouth blend and orange. There's no kitchen. Snacks stop at chips and dip for $10 and olives and nuts for $12, so plan dinner on 16th Street first. AGN Design, the firm behind Buttercup's build-out, did the room. It has roughly 100 soft round light fixtures overhead, plush green chairs and zebra-print seats.
Owning the blocks lets the lineup shift
When one owner holds most of a cluster, the lineup can change without the corner going dark for long. Signature Steak at 1312 S. Wabash was Idonije's first restaurant, opened in 2024. It closed permanently in February 2026, about a year after a rebrand, and he didn't give Block Club a reason. No new tenant for that space has been reported. Stephen Gillanders, his chef partner at the steakhouse, is now working on the Motor Row project.
In January 2026, The TRiiBE counted four Pangea concepts, including EGG BUNNi, a breakfast sandwich spot that opened in 2025, with three more planned for 2026. Martini Lounge is one of the three. The other two haven't opened yet. In January, Happy's was aiming for the summer ice cream season with 10 to 12 flavors. The Japanese cocktail bar was reported then as Bar Dimi, a high-end concept with Fabio Viviani as a partner. Block Club's September update still listed both as in the works, without opening dates. Bar Dimi still has no announced address.
Idonije has said what he's aiming for. "The South Loop has been like the stepchild of these neighborhoods, kind of an afterthought, despite being the heart of the city," he told Block Club. "I think that's changing. I'm hoping that we can continue to be a part of that change." He has also described the area as "like a little suburb within the city."
Motor Row is the far end of the line
The largest piece sits a few blocks south. The Hudson Motor Co. building at 2222 S. Michigan was designed by Alfred Alschuler and finished in 1922 as a car showroom. It has 115,000 square feet. Motor Row became a Chicago Landmark District in 2000. According to Preservation Chicago, the revised plan restores the existing terra-cotta structure and adds one story on top. A permit issued by November 2025 let McHugh Construction start the interior build-out.
The opening date has moved. Reporting in early 2025 pointed to early 2026. In January 2026, The TRiiBE reported a 2027 opening under the name Hudson House, and in September Block Club still described the conversion as underway. The hotel will include a restaurant and event space. No concept or name for the restaurant has been announced.
The block next door already gives people a reason to walk that far. The Chicago Brand Museum at 2412 S. Michigan shows Fred Richards and Elisabeth Emory's private brand collection as a public museum and event space. It's open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., with tickets starting at $25. A Saturday afternoon at the museum followed by an evening on 16th Street is an easy walk along Michigan.
Other operators are moving onto the same two streets, north of the cluster. Kenneth and Christa Hill's Hill Hospitality Group is aiming for July 2027 to open Jackson's Ultra Lounge in the former Scout space at 1301 S. Wabash. A Sept. 18 building permit allows renovations for a Culver's in the former Aurelio's at 1212 S. Michigan. Franchisee Baron Waller is the operator, and no opening date has been announced. When those two open, the Wabash and Michigan strip will run from about 12th Street to Motor Row with something open at most hours.
Further out, the Chicago Fire's McDonald's Park at The 78 broke ground March 3 and is expected to open before the 2028 MLS season. For now it's a 2028 story. This fall, the action is on 16th Street.
The fall calendar, as it stands
- Saturdays through Oct. 31: The Printers Row Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Printers Row Park, 632 S. Dearborn St.
- Early October: A dedicated northbound bus lane on Michigan Avenue, running from Roosevelt Road to Wacker Drive, was announced Sept. 30. Installation was expected to take 7 to 10 nights, weather permitting.
- Thursday through Sunday nights: Martini Lounge is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Idonije plans to post an events calendar on the lounge's website.
- Bears Sundays: The Staley serves a separate game-day menu alongside brunch.
- Friday and Saturday late: Buttercup stays open until 1 a.m.
- Still to come, no dates yet: Happy's Classic Ice Cream, Bar Dimi, Culver's. Jackson's Ultra Lounge is aiming for July 2027, and Hudson House is reported for 2027.
Owners on these blocks can watch their part of the South Loop change one storefront at a time. If you'd like to know how a hotel coming to Motor Row or a fuller Wabash corridor could affect a sale or purchase near 16th Street, the Klopas-Stratton Team follows these openings closely and would be glad to talk them through with you. Contact us.
