In 2011, one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants, Longman & Eagle, expanded into an inn with the creation of six rooms. The owners, two of whom run the music venue Empty Bottle, built and outfitted the whole place. Each of the rooms is different, but all are stylishly simple and feature details such as wood floors, exposed brick, original art work and site-specific installations by local artists, cassette players with mix tapes, well-curated minibars, and Aesop toiletries. For the noise averse, the hotel reminds potential guests that the rooms are located above “an occasionally raucous, whisky-fueled tavern.”
Photos by Clayton Hauck for Longman & Eagle
Clayton Hauck / Longman & Eagle
Photo by Clayton Hauck for Longman & Eagle
Clayton Hauck / Longman & Eagle
Clayton Hauck for Longman & Eagle
Clayton Hauck / Longman & Eagle
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Longman & Eagle
A 25-minute Blue Line ride from the tourist crowds of the Chicago Loop and Michigan Avenue, Longman & Eagle is a unique case study: It’s a Michelin-starred gastropub whose chefs also serve up stylish innkeeping service. Occupying the top floor of a two-story building facing the L station, the six smartly designed rooms (with an entrance independent from the restaurant) feature hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, original art, and a primary color scheme that offsets spare, modernist furniture by Robert McAdams and Jon Martin of Mode Carpentry—a neighborhood company flourishing on many elegant gentrification projects. Through Longman & Eagle’s pub staff and regulars, guests have insider access to Logan Square, one of Chicago’s up-and-coming neighborhoods. What they won’t get are traditional hotel services such as room service or 24-hour concierge. Independent travelers use the swift and efficient local transportation; taxis for trips into town are easy to come by at the stand across the street from the restaurant. What the rooms lack in soundproofing, they make up for in quality entertainment: HDTVs equipped with Apple TV service, and, in the larger three rooms, vintage cassette players complete with mix tapes.
Margarita with a Beer Back at Longman & Eagle, Chicago
Longman and Eagle is a bar, restaurant, and small inn in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. It’s very popular for weekend brunch, and I was charmed by being served a mini beer back with my morning margarita. The food was fantastic: I had rich, cheesy grits with prawns served with the heads on and a peppery sauce. Service was so friendly.
Longman & Eagle in Chicago
PBR, coffee and a pile of bacon. That’s what a Saturday brunch should look like! It’s easy to walk right past Longman & Eagle because it’s on an unscenic strip of Logan Square; but visitors should do themselves a favor and stop in. The menu runs the gamut from esoteric offerings like pastrami spiced pig head to familiar comfort food like fried chicken and waffles, all utilizing local organic food from neighboring farms in the region. Travelers can also spend the night in the boutique hotel above the restaurant but they need to reserve the rooms in advance because there are only 6 of them.
