Highly-acclaimed restaurant Ruxbin will close next month after seven years in Chicago’s Noble Square neighborhood.
Owner and executive chef Edward Kim announced the news Tuesday with a heartfelt letter on the establishment’s website and Facebook page.
“Thank you…..these two words, so simple and casually used, perfectly encapsulate how I feel,” Kim wrote. “Small, intimate, and cooking whatever the hell we want, it’s the cliche of what so many cooks dream of.”
Located at 851 N. Ashland Ave., the award-winning establishment will hold regular dinner services through its final day on Sept. 10.
“Thank you for allowing me to live this dream, it’s been a wonderful ride from the day we opened our doors, frightened that no one would come, to long lines that would circle the block,” Kim wrote. “I’m so proud of how much we’ve grown and accomplished in these past seven years, and it’s fair to say that there are few during our time that have been more celebrated.”
Ruxbin garnered countless accolades over the years, recently being named a semifinalist in the 2017 James Beard Awards, as well as earning a spot in Conde Nast Traveler's 19 best restaurants in Chicago - a report that dubbed the city best in the country when it comes to dining options. [[422965574, C]]
Aside from the awards, Kim detailed Tuesday all that’s been possible through his time with the restaurant – from marrying his business partner and welcoming a daughter, to watching employees grow, and even opening sister restaurant Mott St. just a few blocks to the north.
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But fans of the upscale establishment’s American cuisine need not despair. Kim said the closure is a “Sabbatical... to stop, rejuvenate, and learn again, so that we can accomplish ‘something.’”
“It may be a year from now, maybe more, maybe less, but we’re excited for what that something is,” Kim wrote. “Our lips are tight for now, and we hope that you’ll be equally excited when that time comes.”
In the meantime, Kim asked fans to celebrate “the end of what we hope you agree has been a beautiful chapter” and to send any fond memories and favorite dishes over the years to info@ruxbinchicago.com.
