Just a short trip outside the Loop, Chicago’s historic Lincoln Park offers a range of venues to consider for your next event. Whether you are hosting an overnight function, dinner or a networking happy hour, these Clark Street gems are sure to impress.
Welcome to Hotel Lincoln
Joie de Vivre Hotels has taken great pains to pay homage to the neighborhood and history of Lincoln Park with its new Hotel Lincoln, which opened in March at 1816 N. Clark St.
Two examples of this thoughtfulness:
- Elaine’s Coffee Call on the main level was inspired by a true story involving David Mamet, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who lived in the original Hotel Lincoln.
- The hotel’s emerald green interior accents honor Lyman Frank Baum, former Lincoln Park resident and author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The hotel’s style channels an eccentric hipster-meets-Mad Men, quirky charm. Take, for instance, the check-in desk built from more than 30 vintage dresser drawers found in antique shops throughout the Midwest. As if the repurposed goodness wasn't enough, some of the drawers hold surprises like dog treats for your pooch.
For our legal marketers who plan events, the meeting space on the second floor accommodates up to 100 people, reception-style. The rooftop accommodates 175 on the outdoor patio and 75 guests in the indoor lounge.
If your event or meeting requires sleeping rooms, the hotel boasts 184 guest rooms. Some suites include kitchenettes, room to meet and additional bathrooms. Each room is adorned with artwork from two Chicago non-profits: Marwen, a free, arts-based youth development program for underserved Chicago students in grades 6-12, and Project Onward, a studio and gallery dedicated to the creative growth of artists with mental and developmental disabilities.
Keeping with the charitable theme, for every room rented each night, Hotel Lincoln donates one dollar to PAWS. If this donation and the dog treat drawer has not given it away already, Hotel Lincoln is 100-percent pet friendly.
Perennial Virant and BOKA Group Bring “Farm-to-Hotel” Dining
Both the room service and the on-site restaurants are managed by the acclaimed BOKA Restaurant Group. In May 2011, when Hotel Lincoln was still a shuttered space, BOKA reopened the neighboring restaurant Perennial with Paul Virant at the helm, renaming it Perennial Virant. Many of you have probably heard of or tried the restaurant’s farm-to-table deliciousness, sat outside soaking in the neighborhood, or planned a private event that impressed your guests. Bottom line: Chef Paul Virant’s Perennial is fantastic, and the foodies at Michelin agree.
Events at Perennial Virant are highly customized. The semi-private space accommodates up to 30 seated. Perennial Virant is also available for daytime lunch and brunch dining room buyouts, in addition to full restaurant buyouts on any evening of the week.
Coming Soon – The J. Parker
While business at the ground-level restaurant is going strong, the BOKA Group is by no means taking a break. Their new rooftop lounge, The J. Parker, is in the works and slated to open sometime in July. The J. Parker is named after John Frederick Parker, one of Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguards on the fateful day of April 14, 1865. Legend has it that John Parker left his post to fetch President Lincoln a cocktail, and the president was assassinated in his absence. BOKA Group may be turning the fortune for his namesake, as this new rooftop is sure to become a popular destination.
To access The J. Parker, take the elevator from Hotel Lincoln’s ground floor to the roof, and step off into the lounge, which is open year round. From there, you can walk through the lounge and out onto a stunning rooftop overlooking Lincoln Park to the north and the Chicago skyline to the south. An herb and vegetable garden on the roof will be used at the on-site restaurants.
Expect bar bites and seasonal craft cocktails designed by Chef Paul Virant, and expect it to be crowded. Come late July and look for me here. This place is going to be big.
Rachel Repke is the Chicago Business Development and Communications Manager for Jones Day. Rachel would like to thank the LMA Midwest Chapter for giving her a more legitimate platform for sharing her thoughts on restaurants and event venues, rather than the highly unofficial “Foodie Update” she sends quarterly to a few people in her office.