Openings

Say Hello to Guild Gilt, Taking Over the Former Aigre Doux Space

Brendan Sodikoff
Brendan Sodikoff Photo: 312 Dining Diva

We can all admit that when Aigre Doux suddenly shut its doors this summer, it left a void. Literally filling it now comes French Laundry vet Brendan Sodikoff (he’s currently the executive chef at Lettuce Entertain You’s corporate corporate headquarters), who’s transforming the River North space into a restaurant that’ll be called Guild Gilt, reports 312DD. Per her tipster, the resto will be “low cost,” there’s a likely charcuterie angle, and they’re targeting a January 2010 opening.

While Guild’s Gilt’s concept echoes some other high-profile openings coming soon (Stephanie Izard’s Drunken Goat and the Bannos-Harris-Mantuano Purple Pig are also both opening this winter, both with casual-pork-products themes), Sodikoff does have a lot going for him, like the fact that the space will be staffed by L2O vets. And then there’s the nontrivial matter of Sodikoff’s own culinary chops — a pastry chef by training, his desserts were once described by a critic as “so good you may want to sell a couple of pints of blood if you can’t raise the scratch any other way.” He’s hoping for a January 2010 opening, so start raising.

Get Ready for Guild—Going into Former Aigre Doux Space [312 DD]

Update: Per Dish, the name of the place is Gilt Bar, not “Guild” as reported on 312DD. Ah homophones, they trip up even the best of us.

Say Hello to Guild Gilt, Taking Over the Former Aigre Doux