Photos: DS SHIN
On March 30, the Ricketts family adds another feather to their cap with the opening of their first hotel. Located on Clark Street just across from the front entrance of Wrigley Field, where a parking lot and lone McDonald’s previously stood for decades, the new 173-room Hotel Zachary is the first full-scale hotel to open within a half mile of the ballpark. It’s also a striking addition to an iconic corner of the city.
We took a first look at Hotel Zachary ahead of Monday’s opening with Eric Nordness, senior vice president of Hickory Street Capital—the Ricketts’ real estate development company—and found the highlights start before you even enter the hotel.
The hotel, rising seven stories and spanning a full block from Addison to West Patterson, commands a view. And it begins at street level with a row of new dining concepts, arranged back-to-back on Clark Street. There’s West Town Bakery & Tap, opening April 4, and Mordecai, a cozy, woodsy bar and restaurant opening April 2 and named for famed Cub’s pitcher Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown.
Adjacent to the hotel, find second locations for One Off Hospitality’s Big Star Wrigleyville and Four Star Restaurant Group’s Smoke Daddy, both slated to open by April 9 to coincide with the Cubs’ home opener. Boka Restaurant Group recently announced it will also open the American brasserie Dutch & Doc’s by early summer. That old McDonald’s from the parking lot? It’s been resurrected alongside these big players.
