Two female owners, two nearby sections of Lincoln Avenue… it’s a trend! First, Carol Wallack, chef-owner of Sola, changed her mind about closing up shop in North Center, the generically-named neighborhood around Irving Park and Lincoln, to facilitate a move downtown. Instead, according to The Stew, she plans on converting the space to a more modestly-priced restaurant focused on burgers (which had been a big seller as a Thursday night special at Sola) and other affordable neighborhood fare.
This seems a wise move all around for Wallack. Sola was generally liked but its prices were undoubtedly high for an area dotted with sports bars and ethnic restaurants. Now she’ll have a downtown restaurant where she can play in the same league as the Carrie Nahabedians and Suzy Croftons, while her neighborhood spot will be more in tune with what’s around it.
Meanwhile, Michelle Garcia announced that she was pulling the plug on a third branch of Bleeding Heart Bakery at 2961 N. Lincoln, previously the location of a couple of Garcia’s spinoff businesses, including Chaos Theory Cakes. News reports tended to call that one the “Lakeview” branch as opposed to the Roscoe Village main store, but the reality is, the two locations were barely a five minute walk apart, and neither was exactly surrounded by the population density that would have justified a Starbucksian level of ubiquity. Garcia’s great at drawing attention in a crowded cupcake field, but she’s had issues with multiple locations and staffing them well. This, too, was a wise move.
Sola moving downtown; Ohana taking its place [The Stew]
Bleeding Heart Bakery (Facebook)
