Imagine a Chicago in which it’s no longer possible to eat large portions of okay pasta under photographs of Pope John XXIII, Tony Bennett and Vic Tayback. NOOOOOOOO!!!! you scream, dropping to your knees as the camera cranes above you. But that sad fate could be ours soon, if the Buca di Beppo downtown— the only one in the city— is unable to renew its lease with its landlord. Who is, it turns out, the same landlord who just rented about six times as much space to a more celebrated, less C-list-celebrity-decorated Italian concept, Eataly. Crain’s doesn’t suggest that there’s a direct connection here, exactly, but with such a high profile spot wanting so much space in the developments in the area, Eataly clearly shows that there’s demand for space which may not be reflected in Buca di Beppo’s current rent. And somehow we have a feeling that 60,000-square foot tenant Eataly wouldn’t mourn their absence. Buca’s 10-year lease expires next year, and if they won’t pay more, who knows, in the future you may have to go out to Lombard to eat that stuff. [Crain’s]
