Murrays’ Caddyshack Restaurant set for December opening in Rosemont

It’s a big-time Murray Family affair, and it’s headed to Rosemont.

The Murray Bros. — as in Bill, Brian-Doyle, Ed, Johnny, Joel and Andy — today announced that their family-owned Caddyshack Restaurant will soon occupy leased space at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (5440 N. River Rd.) in Rosemont. The 8,000-square-foot eatery is slated to open in December, and will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week. The original Caddyshack Restaurant, named for the iconic 1980 movie that starred Bill Murray as a dedicated groundskeeper at a posh country club who is taunted by a menacing gopher, opened in 2001 in Florida.

The menu at other Caddyshack locations boasts a selection of comfort food including burgers, ribs, nachos, fish and chips and chicken dishes, as well as salads and decadent desserts.

When asked about the genesis of the restaurants, “It was more my idea than [that of his siblings],” said Andy Murray, reached by phone in Florida on Wednesday. Andy Murray is a chef by trade, having “trained under French guys in New York.” His earliest training involved cooking at a local Wilmette eatery, near his family home.

“I ended up going to New York to go to the Culinary Institute [of America] but then I got in with these French guys who said “we will teach you everything you want to know!,” Murray said, affecting a comical French accent.

Opening a second location in Chicago was a logical choice, Murray said. “We’ve been thinking about the Chicago metro area for a while. So when this Rosemont site cam up, it was perfect. I miss Chicago terribly. [He currently lives in Florida]. I want to be back there [he and his brother Joel plan to move back to Chicago in the near future.] My brothers and sisters come in and out of there all the time. So this [location] will be nice. All we have to do is roll off the airplane and we’re at the restaurant.”

Murray said the menu is all about comfort food, and “stuff we grew up with.” “It’s not fine dining, but it’s gonna be consistently good. You’ll go away happy and full. … I grew up eating everything. My eight brothers and sisters and I ate everything and anything my mom cooked. … [The restaurant’s] basically an extension of my living room.”

The sports-themed restaurant will be similar to the Florida location, with one exception: more TVs. “Chicago is much more of a sports town than down here in Florida. This is the home of college football.” The venue’s golf simulator area will allow guests to “get a foursome together and have a round of golf on different courses around the world,” Murray said. “It’s pretty cool.” He also revealed that the best golfer among the brothers “used to be Edward. But now it’s probably Billy, then Joel, then me.”

In addition to his highly touted corn chowder, when it comes to his signature dish (not on the menu, alas), Murray said, “I do a veal scallopini that’s great.”