Yard House, the award-winning dining destination known for its menu of American favorites, crafted cocktails, and endless fleet of tap handles featuring American craft beers and imports, will open a 403-seat restaurant in early fall at Chicago’s NewCity in Lincoln Park.
More than 200 jobs will need to be filled, including front of the house positions, from servers and bartenders to front desk, as well as “heart of the house” positions including prep and line cooks. Yard House will also take part in the NewCity Job Fair on Saturday, July 18, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at CICS ChicagoQuest School.
“It’s been more than a decade since we first came to the Greater Chicago area when we opened our Glenview location,” says Craig Carlyle, president of Yard House. “For many years we have wanted to have a presence in the heart of the city, but it needed to have the right location and elements. We think NewCity, with its tenant mix and energy, will add a lot to Chicago’s northside and we’re excited to be part of it.”
Open daily for lunch, dinner, and late-night dining, the new Yard House will span more than 11,500 square feet with seating for nearly 370 guests both inside and on the patio with nearly three-dozen seats encircling the restaurant’s signature island bar. The spacious floor plan, which is lofty and open, has an industrial vibe with a mix of warm woods and stainless steel accents as well as an original collection of thought-provoking art by California artist Jerome Gastaldi.
Yard House’s calling card is its draft beer, and the NewCity location will include 110 taps with several handles reserved for local and regional brewers. The beer is delivered fresh and perfectly chilled from a glass-enclosed keg room that houses hundreds of steel barrels. It’s then transported through miles of overhead tubing that feeds into the collection of taps displayed at the island bar. The keg room maintains a consistent 34-36 degrees and can house as much as 4,000 gallons of beer at any given time. Beer is served by the half-yard, traditional pint glasses, and goblets with 9-ounce shorty and six-pack sampler options. Yard House is also known for its Chalkboard Series, which features a selection of small, limited releases from mostly craft brewers that rotate frequently keeping the selection both innovative and fresh. These featured beers are listed on a digital chalkboard prominently displayed above the island bar.
The menu of American favorites includes a selection of globally inspired flavors, from salads and grilled burgers to seafood, steak, and ribs. Guests can also enjoy an array of gluten-sensitive options plus a menu of vegetarian dishes made with gardein, a blend of garden vegetables and protein that have the look, taste, and texture of chicken. Happy Hour, which will take place Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. and Sunday-Wednesday from 10 p.m. until closing, features select full-portion appetizers from $5.
As with every Yard House location, music will play a pivotal role at the NewCity location as a continuous playlist of classic rock, including ‘80s and ‘90s alternative, promises to fill the space. Each Yard House has its own distinct playlist pulling from a library of about 5,000 songs with no two locations playing the same song at the same time.
In addition, a collection of flat screen monitors viewable from nearly every seat will be strategically placed throughout the restaurant displaying the latest sporting and world events.
