Parachute restaurant going on 'hiatus' after 10 years

The critically acclaimed Chicago eatery helmed by Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark will be closing by the end of the month, but will re-emerge with a new concept at an undetermined future date.

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PARACHUTE-060322-31.jpg Parachute, a Korean restaurant in the Avondale neighborhood

Parachute on Elston Avenue in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood will be closing at the end of the month to undergo a concept transformation.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Chefs, owners and spouses Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim announced on Monday that their critically acclaimed Parachute restaurant in Avondale will be taking a “hiatus” at the end of the month to undergo a concept transformation, while the powerhouse duo search for a larger location in the Loop for their original restaurant. The news comes on the cusp of the popular eatery’s 10th anniversary.

“Our community and restaurant family made us great. At 10 years, we think there is an opportunity to serve both with fresh ideas after taking a pause. Owning your evolution is important,” Kim and Clark said in a statement. “This chapter is coming to an end. We expect to bring something new and exciting to the space under the Parachute umbrella in the not-so-distant future.”

The critically acclaimed Korean American restaurant at 3500 N. Elston Ave., which opened in May 2014, shuttered its indoor dining service in 2020 during the pandemic shutdowns, fully reopening in 2022.

Clark and Kim received a James Beard Award for best chefs Great Lakes in 2019. The restaurant previously held a one Michelin Star rating.

Reservations are being accepted via OpenTable through March 23.

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