The owner of now-shuttered upscale Chicago restaurant Onward, in a hotel building owned by Loyola University Chicago, has taken to court to defend himself against Loyola’s attempt to now evict the restaurant after locking down the restaurant for more than a year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May, Loyola University of Chicago filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking a court order allowing the university to evict Onward from its facilities at 6580 N. Sheridan Road, in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
The restaurant is located in a building shared with a Hampton Inn and other businesses, just northwest of Loyola’s campus on Chicago’s far North Side.
Michael Olszewski
| Onward Chicago
According to the complaint, Loyola asserts Onward owes more than $268,000 in back rent, and hasn’t paid its $10,000 per month rent since September 2019.
Loyola filed an amended complaint on July 1.
But Onward’s owner Michael Olszewski has responded in court, saying there is more to this story.
In a motion filed July 14 by attorney Richard Carbonara, Olszewski says this case represents a raw deal doled out to him by an institutional landlord seeking to “get paid while it gets its act together.”
According to the motion, Onward landed at the hotel site in 2018 after more than a year of talks with Loyola. According to the motion, Loyola had leased the land it owned to a developer, to bring a hotel to the corner of North Sheridan Avenue and West Albion Avenue, purportedly to provide hotel space for visitors to the campus.
As part of that development, Olszewski asserted Loyola also recruited him, as a “highly accomplished restaurateur” and a Loyola “alumnus and benefactor” to open a “fine dining restaurant” in the hotel building.
Olszewski had previously operated the Grace restaurant, which was one of 14 restaurants in the U.S. at the time to be awarded three Michelin stars. The restaurant closed in 2017 following a falling out between Olszewski and the restaurant’s chefs, according to published reports.
According to his July 14 motion, Olszewski expressed misgivings to Loyola officials over the chances of successfully operating such an upscale restaurant in the East Rogers Park neighborhood.
He particularly noted other development activities pursued by Loyola in that neighborhood had engendered hostility from some neighbors over concerns about “gentrification.”
However, the motion said Olszewski “answered the call of Loyola, his alma mater” and personally invested $1.5 million into the project, despite his concerns.
“Olszewski correctly anticipated that a fine dining establishment in a challenged area would take a while to catch on, as its demographic would need to be lured from the tonier area of the city and suburbs,” Olszewski said in the July 14 motion.
“He warned … Loyola officials of the same, and they agreed to work with Olszewski as a team. Olszewski’s anticipation was prophetic.
“Business was slow at first, but Onward began to be noticed. It achieved notoriety and praise, and things were looking up.”
However, following the onset of COVID-19 and the imposition of various societal and economic restrictions ordered by Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and others, the restaurant was forced to close.
Ever since, Olszewski said his restaurant has been “precluded by Loyola from opening its doors, or even from offering carry-out.”
At the same time, Olszewski said Loyola has continued to demand its rent.
“Onward was left with no avenue to generate any revenue,” Olszewski wrote. “But, none of that matters to Loyola, who interprets its Lease to require rent nonetheless, notwithstanding the generosity of Olszewski…”
Olszewski has asked the court for more time to build his case, before allowing Loyola to evict Onward.
In the motion, Olszewski indicated he will file a formal response to the eviction suit, and may also file counterclaim against Loyola.
In response to questions from the Cook County Record, Carbonara said:
“This case involves a tenant (an Alumnus, no less) who spent a fortune of his own money building out space to fulfill the concept Loyola wanted, despite its apparent incongruity with the area. They were then prevented by the pandemic and Loyola's own reaction to it from generating any revenue whatsoever. His reward for his generosity is a Landlord who jumps to court before exploring alternatives.”
He said the case is “far from cut and dried.”
A spokesperson for Loyola declined to comment on the case, saying the university does not comment on pending litigation.
Loyola is represented in the action by attorney Michael Griffin, of the firm of Sanford Kahn, of Chicago.