Three new eateries will open this year in Willis Tower, Chicago’s iconic skyscraper, including Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, sandwich chain Mendocino Farms and Mediterranean restaurant Cava.
They are part of efforts to make the Willis Tower “a modernized workplace and community destination in the heart of downtown,” according to a news release from building manager Perform Properties last week.
The eateries join Catalog, a five-story food, retail and entertainment space that opened in 2022. Formerly called the Sears Tower, the 110-story skyscraper was the world’s tallest building when it was built in 1973.
Blackstone, the private equity firm that owns Willis Tower, spent $500 million and five years to make it more accessible to the public, as well as appealing to tenants and the public. The property has a public 30,000-square-foot outdoor terrace and 150,000 square feet of tenant amenity spaces, such as a fitness center and lounge.
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream expects to open in Willis Tower in late summer. Its location along Franklin Street will mark the New York ice cream maker’s first shop in the Midwest. Van Leeuwen plans to announce more locations in Chicago, according to the news release.
California-based Mendocino Farms expects to open in October and will feature a patio on Wacker Drive. It will be the sandwich-and-salad chain’s second location in Chicago, after it launches in River North this summer.
Mediterranean fast-casual brand Cava will be on Jackson Boulevard. It expects to open late this year and will be the chain’s second location in Chicago, in addition to its Wicker Park restaurant.
They join eateries in the skyscraper’s food hall that include Rick Bayless’ Tortazo, Lettuce Entertain You’s Sushi-San, Sweetgreen, Shake Shack, Do-Rite Donuts & Chicken and Brown Bag Seafood Co., among others.
