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The restaurant inside the Hancock Tower closed in late September. | Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images The union claims the restaurant’s owners broke federal law Last week’s closing of the Signature Room surprised many in Chicago — including the unionized employees who worked at the restaurant and lounge on the 95th and 96th floors of the former Hancock Building. On Monday, the union, Chicago Federation of Labor’s Unite Here Local No. 1, filed a federal lawsuit against the Signature Room alleging that the owners violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN Act, requires employers to post advanced notice when it anticipates a mass firing or elimination of jobs. The Signature Room is owned by Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis. The two weren’t immediately available for comment. The union claims in the lawsuit that under the stipulations of the WARN Act, the Signature Room’s owners were required to give employees at least 60-days notice before closing. The restaurant employed more than 100 full-time workers, according to the lawsuit. The restaurant also employed a number of part-time employees. Unionized workplaces are a rarity in the hospitality world, though they’re becoming more commonplace. The federation’s ranks includes Gibsons, Harry Caray’s, and Italian Village. Unite Here Local No. 1 represents 132 former Siganture Room workers. Those workers were notified via an email sent the day the restaurant closed at 6 a.m. on Thursday, September 28, according to the lawsuit. The filing alleges that the owners owe union members the wages, pension payments, and healthcare benefits it would have paid out during the 60-day notice period. The lawsuit seeks healthcare coverage and the salary workers would have received. Reports are split behind the closure with one report claiming its due to failed lease negotiations. Others, including Crain’s — which broke the story — have pinned the shutter on slowed downtown business during the pandemic. Another wrinkle is the tipped minimum wage ordinance. City Council members are later this month expected to vote to abolish the practice, which will force restaurant owners to pay a higher wage rather than to depending on tips to make up the difference between tipped and standard hourly wages. The restaurant owners who opposed the ordinance said the measure would lead to restaurant closings.

Boka is covering Le Select to a private event space. | Boka Restaurant Group/Anthony Tahlier The River North French restaurant is now a private events space after a rare miss from Boka It would appear that Boka Restaurant Group is making lemonade as the company has acknowledged that its River North French restaurant “just did not resonate the way we dreamed for it to.” On Monday afternoon, the restaurant group, led by founders Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, announced they were converting Le Select, 504 N. Wells Street, into a private event space. This also includes Bar 504 on the second floor. The plan, according to a Boka rep, is for Le Select to immediately shift to exclusively hosting events through the end of 2023. In January, they’ll temporarily close for about a month. Expect light renovations with some small design changes and furniture removal. The idea is to further optimize the restaurant space, making it more attractive for private parties. The Le Select name will vanish after the work’s finished. Boka says that for years they’ve been wanting a private event venue for its catering arm. After Le Select’s conversion, they’ll be able meet an increased demand for “for more versatile event spaces” while giving customers better options. They’re already taking event inquiries. Le Select opened in January 2023, one of the city’s most eagerly waited debuts with all the glitz that comes when Boka unveils a new space including a VIP opening party. Crews gutted the former Bottled Blonde space, transforming the controversial party bar into what they’d hope would become a bustling brasserie. Boka is a Chicago hitmaker that won a James Beard Award in 2019. Other restaurants include Momotaro, GT Prime, and Alla Vita. Adding to the hype was Le Select’s opening chef, Daniel Rose, the suburban Chicago native who left America as a teen for culinary school in France. He would later open Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris. Rose, who has fans across the globe, also backed New York’s lauded Le Coucou. But the rapport between Rose and Boka soured thanks, in part, to Le Select’s middling reception by local critics. Rose and Boka split in May. Boka attempted to salvage the restaurant by bringing in chef Chris Pandel of its Fulton Market steakhouse, Swift & Sons, to revamp the menu. Five months later, the company is pivoting once more toward private events. In a statement, Boehm says the idea of a dedicated private event space has long been on the company’s mind: Taking chances is in Rob and my DNA — this shared trust in our vision has allowed us to continue opening restaurants together for over two decades. We lean into the artistry of this process and are extremely fortunate that most of our ideas have been embraced. Listening to feedback is a crucial part of our job, and we understand that the Le Select concept just did not resonate the way we dreamed for it to. We are confident, however, that the next chapter of this incredible space is a home for the execution of Boka Restaurant Group private events. We’ve been searching for the right space to do so for years, and we believe we’ve found it — it’s the right space for this natural evolution. It’s an unusual chain of events for a company that isn’t used to closing restaurants. Even a closure like Little Goat Diner in West Loop was followed by the restaurant relocating to Lakeview. Another closure, GT Fish & Oyster, which stood just north of Le Select, enjoyed a healthy 12-year run.

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Jeff & Lester took a day before diving into their postgame thoughts, and they’re still annoyed at the Bears' performance. It’s painful watching the Chicago Bears play because even when things are going well, we know that something “Bearsy” is bound to happen. It’s just a matter of time. Good teams can fight through adversity, but the Bears are a bad football team, and bad football teams can’t overcome mistakes. Even though the Bears led the Denver Broncos 28 to 7 behind nearly three-quarters of perfect play from Justin Fields, we knew it was too good to be true. Denver’s offense scored a touchdown at the end of the third. They got another tuddy midway through the fourth. A sack and a fumble from Fields led to a scoop and score for the Broncos. Chicago drove 57 yards on their next possession before failing on a 4th and 1 from Denver’s 18-yard line. Russell Wilson to Marvin Mims Jr. for 48 yards on the very next play got the Broncos in field goal range, then four plays later, a 52-yard field goal gave them the lead. The Bears had 1:46 and a time out to play with, but a miscommunication between Fields and Cole Kmet led to the game-ending interception. Fields’ mistakes hurt, but so did the 10 penalties (the most since 2021), the conservative play calling, and the defense’s inability to make a play. And to think, the Bears get to take this show on the road for a nationally televised game in three days. Check out me and Jeff Berckes on our Bear & Balanced here, or come hang out with us live on 2nd City Gridiron at 6:00 p.m. (CT). Here's our usual bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced. Intro: We'll both share some general thoughts about the game. Trench Tribute: This is our weekly pick for lineman of the game. Sweet Tweets: We're both active on social media — so be sure you're all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. Caught up in a numbers game: This segment has us featuring one number/statistic that we found interesting from the game. The Fields Report: We talk about quarterback Justin Fields before we take our commercial break. The 3 Bears: You all know the story of the Three Bears, so in this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was hot, the Bear that was cold, and the Bear that was just right in the game against the Broncos. You can also listen to the podcast version here or download it wherever you get your pods: The WCG Podcast Channel is available anywhere you get your Podcasts, including platforms such as Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audacy, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Podbean, Audible, TuneIn, and many more! 2nd City Gridiron is our video home, so hit the link to subscribe and turn those notifications on so you never miss when we go LIVE!