Coda di Volpe from Billy Lawless and Ryan O’Donnell with Executive Chef Chris Thompson is opening in July

Billy Lawless and Ryan O’Donnell with Executive Chef Chris Thompson are opening Coda di Volpe this July at 3335 N. Southport Avenue.

The Coda di Volpe Team

FACTS AT A GLANCE:

TEAM: Restaurateurs Billy Lawless and Ryan O’Donnell with Executive Chef Chris Thompson

ABOUT: Opening summer 2016 in the Lakeview neighborhood, Coda di Volpe will be a neighborhood favorite and also a dining destination serving Southern Italian fare. Coda di Volpe will bring casual sophistication to the neighborhood. Restaurateurs Billy and Ryan have been friends for years and have always discussed the idea of working on a project together; first they found the space and then joined forced with Chef Thompson and the vision for the restaurant came to life. Chef Chris Thompson, previously at the helm of nationally acclaimed restaurants including A16 and Spruce in San Francisco and The Nickle in Denver, spent an extensive amount of time in Italy doing research and development for the menu, which will focus on the lighter fare of the South.

Coda di Volpe is a white Italian wine grape variety that has been historically grown in the Campania region around the town of Naples, it also translates to “tail of the fox” in Italian. Chef Chris Thompson is passionate about bringing Southern Italian cuisine to Chicago so Coda di Volpe, a grape from that region, fit perfectly with the team’s vision for the restaurant.

MENU: Chef Thompson’s menu will showcase Southern Italian cuisine in a menu that offers something that will appeal to everyone, including Neapolitan pizza, for which Thompson has his VPN certification, and house-cured meats. Southern Italian cuisine encompasses regions south of Rome, which incorporates less dairy, heavy cream, and butter, and highlights more seafood, vegetables, and olive oil.

DÉCOR: The Coda di Volpe team is working with 555 International on the design and décor for the restaurant, which will have a Mid-Century Italian vibe.

HOURS: The restaurant will be open 7 days per week. To start, Coda di Volpe will only be open for dinner service, with lunch and weekend brunch following shortly after.

LOCATION: Coda di Volpe is located at 3335 N. Southport Ave.

PRICING: The pricing will be accessible and competitive for the neighborhood.

CAPACITY: 100 seats in dining room; 25 seats at the bar; 65 seats on the patio

From DNA Info:

“The Southern Italian restaurant will open at 3335 N. Southport Ave. under the direction of Executive Chef Chris Thompson, known for his San Francisco eateries A16 and Spruce.

“We want to bring a little sophistication to the Southport Corridor, which we feel is really up-and-coming,” O’Donnell said Tuesday. “We’ll bring some of what Billy does downtown and what I do in Lincoln Park.”

From Eater Chicago:

“ODonnell wants the restaurant to be a “neighborhood go-to,” with a coziness that reminds diners of Gemini. They’ll bring that to Southport along with the downtown hospitality from Lawless, breaking up the monotony of Lakeview’s sport bars.

They want to open within two months with 100 seats inside the dining area plus a U-shaped bar with 25 seats. There’s also sidewalk seating that will wrap around the intersection of Southport and Henderson and a five-seat pizza counter. They’ve enlisted 555 International for the design: “Think Italy in the 1950s or 60s,” O’Donnell said.”

We are very much looking forward to this great addition to The Port!