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CHICAGO -- Carlucci Hospitality Group, which started with one North Side restaurant 13 years ago, has evolved into a multiunit company with a downtown presence.
With the opening of its eighth restaurant, Iron Mike's Grille, a high-end American restaurant named for partner Mike Ditka, former Chicago Bears coach and newly named coach of the New Orleans Saints, Carlucci has moved downtown. In addition, two more downtown restaurants are planned for openings this year, including a Carlucci Italian restaurant in the new House of Blues Hotel.
"We started as a neighborhood group," founder Joe Carlucci said. "We had Carlucci on Halsted, Charlie's Ale House, Vinny's and Strega Nona within a 1-mile circumference. Now we have made more of a conscious effort to be in highervolume locations."
Some new well-heeled partners are another factor contributing to Carlucci's move from North Side neighborhoods to the brighter lights of downtown. Investors in Iron Mike's include Jeff Shearer, vice chairman of Boston Market, and John Morlock, Chicago area Boston Market franchisee.
"The cost of building a restaurant is about the same, no matter what the sales," Carlucci said, explaining the company's strategy. He now thinks it makes more sense to have a downtown location with the potential to do between $8 million and $9 million in sales instead of a neighborhood site that does $3...