Umamicue

Umamicue Cancels Plans for a Downtown Food Hall Location | Eater Chicago

"A lauded barbecue operation that blends Central Texas smoking techniques with Vietnamese and Chinese flavors canceled plans to open inside a downtown food hall after repeated management missteps. The owner says he was never presented with a lease, was promised use of a custom smoker that turned out not to belong to the hall, and faced repeated delays to an agreed opening date, forcing him to close two bar-based outposts he had been operating and leaving himself without steady revenue and two former employees out of work. The downtown spot had been pitched as a chance to reach big lunch crowds and move closer to opening a full-service restaurant; after the deal collapsed he pivoted to pop-ups (including appearances at nearby restaurants such as Thattu in Avondale and Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits in Logan Square and a scheduled April 11 appearance at the MCP Rebel Ball), and plans to focus on recipe development while scouting standalone spaces." - Ashok Selvam