Boka Restaurant Group has unveiled the latest restaurant, called Itoko, coming to Lakeview, located at 3325 N. Southport Ave.
Previously, the group announced two other restaurants coming to the former Southport Lanes, starting with Lee Wolen’s 950-square-foot GG’s Chicken Shop, which is opening towards the end of the year. Boka, founded by Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, will then relocate Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner to the building in a 1,200-square-foot space early next year. Now, the group has announced its third and final restaurant coming to the building: Itoko, a Japanese project led by Gene Kato. All three restaurants will have their own identity and signage.
The new Itoko is scheduled to open in Winter 2022. The restaurant will feature 2,750 square feet of dining space on the first floor and a 650-square-foot private dining room upstairs, according to Eater Chicago. Katz and Boehm have lived in the area and raised their families there. The two believe this new restaurant will fill a hole within the neighborhood’s food scene.
“There have been some Japanese restaurants here,” Katz says. “Kevin and I, we just felt maybe there’s one thing lacking in this neighborhood.”
Kato is no stranger to working with the Boka Group or a robata grill, which will be featured at the new restaurant. The Chicago chef first gained recognition at Sumi, his River North restaurant that closed in 2017. While there, he became a master of the robata grill. Kato eventually found himself working with the grill again, this time at the Boka Group’s Japanese restaurant Momotaro. Itoko, which translates to cousin in Japanese, will serve as Momotaro’s sister restaurant.
“At Momotaro, we follow a pretty traditional foundation when it comes to sushi,” Kato says. “At Itoko, we wanted to loosen up a little bit.”
