Konbini & Kanpai, a Japanese American Bottle Ship, Is Expanding to Wrigleyville | Eater Chicago
"A new outpost of a Japanese American bottle shop founded in Lakeview occupies the former Dark Horse Tap and expands the original concept with a full kitchen and a slightly larger footprint. The menu—developed by a chef who ran a pan-Asian food truck—features nostalgic, konbini-inspired dishes such as udon, egg salad sandos on milk bread, bento boxes, and other grab-and-go items, while the beverage program will spotlight a distinct lineup of sakes, shochu, and Japanese canned beers alongside cocktails that riff on Belmont favorites (for example, a sake-based Old Fashioned with ginger simple syrup and barley shochu paired with Filipino cappuccino rum). Housed in a minimalist space designed to host Asian American pop-ups and community events, it can seat more than 70 between indoor seating and an outdoor beer garden, and the project carries personal significance for its founders—a return to a location tied to their family’s hospitality history." - Naomi Waxman
