L2O, which is closing December 31, will reopen in February as Intro, a restaurant with rotating chefs and concepts.
The Lettuce Entertain You restaurant will open for two- to three-month stretches, each with a different chef. First up: C.J. Jacobson, best known for his stint on Top Chef Miami and for winning Top Chef Duels this year. Jacobson is currently the executive chef at Girasol in Studio City, CA. Time Out Los Angeles gave the “rustic-refined” restaurant three stars.
Intro will focus on bringing up-and-coming chefs to Chicago to create and learn how to run their own restaurant. Chefs will have a financial partnership in their restaurant and will work with LEYE restaurateur-founder Rich Melman, L2O chef-partner Matthew Kirkley and others within LEYE to develop a concept, including conceiving a menu and front-of-house details.
Intro, which is slated to open in February after the interior is revamped, will sell tickets, which will range in price from $65–$95. The tickets will be sold through Tock, the ticketing system that Nick Kokonas (Alinea, Next), created to sell tickets to his restaurants. Ticket prices don't include pairings, which are optional. More information on tickets and menus will be added to the Intro website as it becomes available.