A brand new contemporary Italian restaurant called Ummo is looking to make its debut in Chicago’s River North, located at 22 W. Hubbard St.
The new restaurant is the latest from Somos Hospitality Group, which operates Tzuco in River North and is expected to open in July 2023, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Ummo will move into the former home of Rockit Bar & Grill, which closed in 2019 after 15 years. The restaurant will be run by co-founder Germán González, along with chef/ partner Carlos Gaytán. The kitchen will be run by chef/ partner José Sosa, who left the Gibsons Restaurant Group in December after working there for almost 15 years.
“This is an exciting time to expand our presence in Chicago,” González said. “The downtown Chicago community has been so good to us, and we see a distinct growth opportunity for Hubbard Street.”
Ummo will sit six blocks away from the Tzuco. Customers can expect pasta made from scratch made with ingredients sourced from Italy. There will also be a yet-to-be-named cocktail lounge upstairs with live music, according to Crain’s. The restaurant’s name comes from the Italian word for smoke, “fumo,” which inspires the live-fire cooking around which the kitchen will be centered.
While this will be only the hospitality group’s second restaurant in Chicago, Gonzalez’s family owns about 45 restaurants in Mexico and a couple in Madrid. The restaurateur tells Crain’s he like River North for the mix of tourism, residential, and office foot traffic. While the restaurant will have several fierce competitors nearby, such as RPM Italian and Il Porcellino, Ummo hopes to win its customers by creating a unique atmosphere that makes diners want to stay all night.
“People want experiences,” González said. “You go out, you’re expecting phenomenal service, phenomenal dining.”
