A French Bistro Will Debut Across the Street From Holy Name Cathedral

In the urban-suburban trajectory, restaurants typically start in the city before making their way to smaller towns around it. Opening in early September, Petit Pomeroy reverse engineers that story as the smaller sibling to Winnetka’s Pomeroy, which opened in September 2021 on the North Shore.

“Pomeroy is the highest-grossing restaurant we have in Ballyhoo,” says Ryan O’Donnell, Ballyhoo founder and CEO. “The suburbs have been very good to us.”

Above Ballyhoo’s Gemini Grill, which opened earlier this year at upscale residences One Chicago in River North, Petit Pomeroy is one of four restaurants Ballyhoo Hospitality (Coda di Volpe, Old Pueblo Cantina, DeNucci’s, and Gemini among others) will be opening in the next seven months. The other three will be in suburban Highland Park and Glenview.

“When we were doing Gemini Grill, we retrofitted the second floor to be a restaurant, but we didn’t know what exactly,” O’Donnell says. “We wanted to see what was happening in the local dining scene and the landscape and figure out what would be best suited there.”

With the success of Pomeroy and the recent growth of French restaurants in Chicago (Obelix, La Serre, Bistro Monadnock, etc.), the circumstances felt right to bring that concept to the city.

“Sometimes people can be intimidated by French food as they think it’s fine dining or heavy with lots of sauces,” O’Donnell says. “But bistro food is comfort food at its heart and core.”

While Pomeroy leans more into brasserie territory, Petit Pomeroy will be more of a classic French bistro. Petit Pomeroy is smaller in size (90 seats versus 280) and O’Donnell says the second-floor kitchen is about a quarter the size of Winnetka’s.

“We couldn’t do the big, expansive menu,” says O’Donnell. “We had to pare it down, which allowed us to focus on the greatest hits. It’s not a complete rinse and repeat, but we’re not going to change a lot of the stuff we do really well.”

The warm tomato tart with dried heirloom tomatoes, fromage blanc, and herbes de Provence inside a puff pastry shell made the move. “It might not be the most classic French thing in the world, but it’s been a big mover in Winnetka,” says O’Donnell.

Winnetka’s popular plats du jour are making the journey too, including top-seller short rib Bourguignon with pommes purée. “Last night we sold 48 in Winnetka,” says O’Donnell. Look for other French bistro classics, such as bouillabaisse and escargots.

Ballyhoo Hospitality

Beverages will follow a similar Gallic route with an emphasis on French wines, including sparking and Champagne, with cocktails such as the French 75, Le Spritz, and Le Pamplemousse.

For the interior, red leather banquettes and booths are paired with bistro-style chairs. Touches include brass railings, vintage posters, and wood paneling. A bar will seat eight. From its second-floor perch, views of Holy Name Cathedral across the street will be front and center.

“The drama of the room’s setting will surprise people,” says O’Donnell. “People don’t know what’s up on that second floor so I think that will be the big wow factor.”

Petit Pomeroy, 748 N. State Street, scheduled for a mid-September opening.