Pizza Bar, Bakery, Farm-to-Table Trio Development Under Way (PHOTOS)

Workers were busy Monday at a Halsted Street site that was once home to a popular, family owned sports bar.

Last summer, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. took over the shuttered Tilli's space 1952 N. Halsted St. Owned by sisters Susan and Kristin Tiritilli, The restaurant lost its lease at the end of 2009 after about 13 years in business.

Soon occupying the now vacant plot will be a variation of Lettuce Entertain You's Stella Rossa Pizza Bar, M Street Kitchen and M Street Bakery, according to its website.

Those eateries are all based in Santa Monica, Calif. 

"The space will comprise three separate restaurants," Crain's Chicago Business reports. "The hub, at the entrance, will be modeled after M Street Bakery. Throughout the day, it will serve hand-pressed espresso, pastries, house-made English muffins—served with seasonal preserves or as a sandwich with ingredients such scrambled eggs, ham, bacon and organic sausage—and eight to 10 types of cookies, including what (Jeff Mahin, chef-partner of the California restaurants) calls the best chocolate chip cookies he's ever had."

They'll re-create the pizzeria, calling it Stella "something," the story also indicates, but the final name has not been worked out.

The 120-seat pizzeria and unnamed restaurant on the other side will be 3,500 square feet and 6,500 square feet, respectively. The latter will serve up local, farm-to-table food with a veggie focus, according to Crain's.

"The idea is that it's a neighborhood restaurant," Mahin said, in the story. "'Simple and delicious' is the key term we're looking to have in every dish. We want it to be affordable. We'll have a good steak, a quality free-range chicken."

Workers are currently building the foundation for the new, one-story structure, according to a building permit issued by the city of Chicago on Feb. 28. The Tilli's demolition was completed last summer. 

LEYE's founder, Rich Melman, began his career in Lincoln Park and currently, four other local restaurants fall under the company's umbrella. The closest to the future Halsted site is about one block away—tapas restaurant Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba at 2024 N. Halsted St.

The team aims to open the new ventures toward the end of June, though the site remained vacant of any structure on Monday.

Mahin is currently competing on ABC's new culinary show, "The Taste," featuring judges Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson.

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