Top Chef Alum Sarah Grueneberg Is Bringing a New Italian Restaurant to Bucktown's Armitage Avenue
By Socialhood News · Bucktown ·
Bucktown's Armitage Avenue just landed one of the most anticipated restaurant announcements of the fall season. Trattoria Lo So — a new Italian concept from the celebrated team behind Monteverde Restaurant and Pastificio — is coming to 2044 W. Armitage Ave., the space formerly occupied by the bar Jack and Ginger's. The news broke last week, and for a neighborhood that already punches well above its weight in dining, this one carries real weight.
The project is led by chef Sarah Grueneberg, a Top Chef alumna, alongside her Monteverde partners Jaime Canete and Rob Mosher. The building has been under construction for months, and the team is transforming it into a 120-seat restaurant anchored by a 17-seat bar. The culinary direction will be helmed by Monteverde's own executive chef, Bailey Sullivan — a significant vote of confidence in a restaurant that, on paper at least, is positioned as the more accessible, neighborhood-facing sibling to the West Loop flagship.
The menu is still being finalized, but the kitchen's identity is already taking shape: meats, fish, and vegetables prepared over a robata-style grill, the Japanese charcoal-burning technique that delivers a distinctive char and smokiness to whatever passes over it. It's an unusual choice for an Italian concept — and a genuinely intriguing one. The word trattoria implies something relaxed and unpretentious, and the robata direction suggests the team is after something with real technique at its core rather than a red-sauce crowd-pleaser.
Sullivan's profile adds another dimension to the story. Earlier this year, he was named a finalist for the James Beard Award's Emerging Chef category — one of the most competitive individual recognition categories in American food. That kind of attention, attached to a neighborhood trattoria in Bucktown, is not something that happens without deliberate ambition. The team is aiming for an opening in early 2027, which means the construction timeline on Armitage is now the story to watch heading into winter.
Monteverde itself is one of Chicago's most durable success stories. It opened in the West Loop in 2015 and was named one of the 12 best new restaurants in America by GQ. More than a decade on, it still regularly appears on best-of lists — a rarity in a restaurant industry where most concepts peak and fade within a few years. Grueneberg and her partners have shown they know how to build something that lasts, and Bucktown residents have every reason to believe they're bringing that same orientation to Armitage Avenue.
The new trattoria will join a stretch of Armitage that has been quietly building one of the North Side's stronger dining corridors. Trattoria Lo So's immediate neighbors include Class Act, Pompette, Mirra, and the decades-old French bistro Le Bouchon — a mix of established anchors and newer arrivals that gives the street genuine range. The Origin, an African fusion restaurant and lounge that opened at 2010 W. Armitage Ave. in May 2026, also sits nearby, adding to a block that now offers something meaningfully different at almost every address.
Also worth noting for neighbors tracking the neighborhood's café scene: WTTW's fall 2026 restaurant roundup flagged Cafe Gimme as an incoming all-day café at 2115 N. Damen Ave. in Bucktown — another address to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Details on opening timing remain limited, but the Damen corridor continues to attract operators across formats.
For updates on Trattoria Lo So as the Armitage build-out continues, follow Block Club Chicago's Wicker Park-Bucktown coverage and the Bucktown Community Organization at bucktown.org. When reservations open closer to the early 2027 launch, that's the moment to move quickly — if Monteverde's track record is any guide, the table competition will be real.
Sources:
1. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/09/17/trattoria-lo-so-2nd-restaurant-from-monteverde-team-opening-in-bucktown-this-winter/
2. https://www.wttw.com/playlist/2026/09/21/upcoming-restaurants-fall-2026
3. https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/05/13/the-origin-african-fusion-restaurant-and-lounge-opening-in-bucktown/