A Contemporary Spin on French Cusine Heads to Old Town

Jason Chan wants to fill a void in Old Town, one that’s existed for nine years after Bistrot Margot closed along Wells Street. Chan, one of the most beloved figures in Chicago’s restaurant scene, is known for his love of martial arts almost as much as his affability. He’s now opening a 32-seat French restaurant in October at a space a few blocks from Bistrot Margot.

Old Town may have a French bakery in La Fournette, but Margot’s closure left the neighborhood without a French restaurant — the closest a mile north in Lincoln Park at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ Mon Ami Gabi. Chan will rectify that when he opens Gavroche late in September at 1529 N. Wells Street. Chan’s travels over the last two years have sent him to Japan, Italy, and Spain, but he says his time in Paris left the biggest impression. While in France, Chan says he witnessed a culinary revolution that spun away from the bistros Chicagoans associate with French food.

“Of all the places, what I really loved the most were just tiny mom-and-pop, the 20- or 30-seat restaurants that had maybe five employees,” Chan says.

Gavroche — also a character from Les Misérables — will offer a “contemporary, modern version of French food” without “the heavy creams and butters and seven mother sauces,” says Chan. The menu will have about 18 items with seven daily specials. About four of the specials will be classic dishes, what most envision when they crave French food, Chan says. Chan says he made a spreadsheet of Chicago’s 17 French restaurants and found most of them had the same menus. One way of distinguishing a menu is embracing how African influences have impacted French cuisine. All in all, Chan wants his new restaurant to disrupt with innovation: “Bistro is not rocket science,” he says.

The menu at Gavroche will include dishes like charred French radishes with salted butter, fennel pollen, and a warm demi-baguette; a “niçoise” hamachi sashimi with egg yolk confit, seasonal vegetables, petit lettuce, pickled pearl onion, and white anchovy vinaigrette; and turbot au four beurre blanc with Polanco caviar and smoked crème fraîche beurre blanc.

There will be a four-seat counter. There are no plans for a tasting menu, but if Chan sees one of his chef friends or someone he knows who would appreciate something a little extra, he’ll seat them at the counter and curate a menu omakase style: “It would kind of be like a secret deal that’s not a secret,” Chan says.

Chan took a corporate job during the pandemic, and found love — he’s engaged. His fiance, Heather Blaise, is also a designer and is working on the restaurant, the former Old Town spinoff of Fish Bar. Chan’s resume includes serving as the general manager of Kitana, giving the chain someone with deep Chicago roots. He also opened Juno, the sushi restaurant in Lincoln Park. He’s worked for several restaurant groups, including DMK, and opened Butter in 2005 in West Loop. He comes from a legacy of restaurants as his parents ran several restaurants around Chicago, including a Jewish deli in Lakeview, an Irish pub in Andersonville, and a coffee shop in the Loop. Chan independently developed a love for French cuisine, working in the mid-’80s at L’Escargot in the Allerton Hotel off the Mag Mile. His parents pushed him away from working in the kitchen, wanting him to enter the professional ranks as a doctor or attorney. They gave Chan the least desirable jobs hoping he would be repulsed when he was a youngster. It backfired.

“Buddy, when you’re when you’re in a 3,500-square-foot Irish pub by yourself, and it’s Saturday morning and you’re pissed because all your friends are in pajamas, eating cereal, and watching cartoons, and you’re cleaning a fucking restaurant bar,” Chan recalls. “After three months of crying and hating it every time I did it, I would pretend I was a chef when I was in the kitchen, I would pretend I was the manager when I was sweeping the floor.”

While Chan serves as the inspiration for the restaurant, he’ll delegate cooking responsibilities to Mitchell Acuña. Chan was impressed by Acuña’s willingness to learn, and the chef worked at Boka, North Pond, and Sixteen. Chan spoke with Sixteen chef Nick Dostal who gave Acuña his endorsement as the two worked together at the Trump Tower restaurant when it was worthy of a Michelin star. Also joining the team is pastry chef Christine McCabe. McCabe worked at Charlie Trotter’s and worked with Chan prior, most recently at their Time Out Market Chicago stall, Sugar Cube. Chan says the pandemic led to the sweet shop’s demise just when the sweets shop began to find traction in 2020. McCabe will bake the breads and eventually be in charge of upcoming brunch and lunch menus.

Reservations will only be accepted for groups of six or more — Chan wants to encourage walk-ins. He also wants to offer late-night dining. They have a 2 a.m. liquor license and intend to make use of it. He’s also sowing the seeds for more projects. He loves the history of Prohibition and says he has an idea for a speakeasy bar, one that eschews gimmicks for a genuine slice of history. He also has an idea for a fast-casual restaurant.

Gavroche, 1529 N. Wells Street, planned for late-September opening.