Boystown Eats Brazil
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Scheduled to open in late October, Rhumba will be billed as an “authentic” Brazilian restaurant, according to Abrams. It will take a full half of the 10,000-square-foot building Vortex occupies at 3641 N. Halsted. The restaurant plans to serve food until around 10 or 11 each evening, at which time it will become part of the nightclub again. Rhumba will have its own entrance on Halsted Street, and Vortex customers will enter the club at the back of the building. By the time Rhumba debuts, Marchese says, the six-year-old Vortex will also have a new look and probably a new name.
Rhumba is not the first restaurant to open in a nightclub. Excalibur, the giant River North spot, has tried unsuccessfully to introduce fine dining on a couple of occasions. More recently Vinyl, a funky joint from the owners of Ka-Boom! and Oo-la-la!, has had mixed success combining the two pursuits. And a more low-key example is Green Dolphin Street, which includes a fine-dining establishment adjacent to a jazz club.
Barbara’s Books
