Restaurateur Sells Chicago Mansion on Big Lot for $6.7 Million

A restaurant executive instrumental in launching the Maggiano’s Little Italy chain has sold his Lincoln Park home for $6.7 million.

Lettuce Entertain You’s Mark Tormey sold the unit May 1, marking the ninth-priciest sale price in the city so far this year and the most-expensive trade in Lincoln Park since November, Crain’s reported. The price represented about 90 percent of the original $7.45 million asking price.

The home, at 2210 North Orchard Street, sits on a 9,000-square-foot lot — three times the size of a typical city lot.

The buyers weren’t identified. They were drawn to the home’s proximity to Oz Park as well as its large lot, which includes an outdoor basketball half-court.

The buyers “were looking for something where their kids could enjoy outdoor space,” said Kimber Galvin, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices agent who brokered the purchase for them. Emily Sachs Wong with @properties Christie’s International Real Estate held the listing.

Built in 2001, the house features a classic Chicago greystone facade with six bedrooms and a large covered side porch extending into the yard. The buyers are expected to update the interior, which still has design elements popular in the early 2000s, such as thick granite countertops.

Tormey, who joined Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You in 1979, was pivotal in the growth of Maggiano’s after its sale to Brinker International in 1995. The chain expanded from three to 47 locations during his tenure. Tormey returned to Lettuce in 2005 and now oversees several Chicago-area restaurants, including Di Pescara and Petterino’s.

This sale is another data point in a series of high-end property sales in the market. In one week, six properties sold for more than $4 million, including homes in Glencoe, Lake Forest and Lincoln Park. One custom house in Lincoln Park listed earlier this year for $9.5 million.

—Joel Russell