Signature Room restaurant in former Hancock tower closes

The well-known Signature Room restaurant, perched atop the former John Hancock Center in Chicago, has permanently closed its doors, delivering another blow to the one-vibrant Magnificent Mile’s retail scene.

Signature Room owners Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis cited financial challenges stemming from the pandemic as reasons for closing the space on the 95th and 96th floors of the tower at 875 North Michigan Avenue, Crain’s reported.

“Unfortunately, economic issues after the closure of our city and restaurant due to the COVID-19 pandemic persist,” the owners told the outlet. “Chicago and Michigan Avenue have been slow to recover. Safety issues and negative publicity continues to deter visitors to Chicago. All of these issues are negatively impacting the health of our restaurant and are issues that are completely out of our control.”

The Mag Mile is much emptier compared to pre-pandemic days. An increase of online shopping has pummeled the area’s retail sector, and foot traffic is still relatively low, resulting in high vacancies and financial turmoil throughout the strip.

While retailers of merchandise have been hit hard by the public health crisis, some restaurants are struggling to stay afloat, as well. Restaurateur Tony Hu, for instance, filed for bankruptcy on his Chinese restaurant at 520 North Michigan Avenue in April.

Overall, though, downtown restaurants are gradually rebounding from the pandemic. Still, rising labor and food costs are putting pressure on the industry’s already narrow profit margins.

Signature Room’s closure also coincides with the attempted sale of the 26,168-square-foot space that houses the restaurant and Signature Lounge cocktail bar above it. Madison Capital and PGIM Real Estate tapped Cushman & Wakefield to market the property earlier this year, touting its consistent visitor draw and stable cash flow.

The Signature Room, operated by Roman and Pyknis’ Infusion Management Group since its debut in 1993, has been revered in Chicago, consistently ranking among the city’s top-grossing independent restaurants, the publication reported. Infusion’s triple-net lease for the property covered maintenance, taxes and insurance, and it recently invested $1.5 million in renovations.

— Quinn Donoghue

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