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Paul Kahan and One Off Hospitality transform The Publican into a ski resort on the streets of Chicago

Outdoor domes, cider, beer and heaters bring an inviting environment to the cold winter streets amid COVID regulations

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

December 16, 2020

1 Min Read
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While travel is still frowned upon, The Publican in Chicago is attempting to transport diners to a ski resort amid the bustling streets of Fulton Market.

The Publican, from Chef and Partner Paul Kahan and the team at One Off Hospitality, is embracing the outdoors amid COVID indoor-dining restrictions by creating outdoor domes and changing the menu to remind patrons of a European ski resort.

“I was recently chatting with a good friend from Bavaria [Germany], and she was talking about how Europeans sit outside all winter where the restaurant is empty and the outdoor biergarten is full,” Kahan said in a statement. “If you dress properly, you can be comfortable outdoors well into the season.”

With an extensive international beer list, including both modern and historical beer styles, as well as cider, guests are kept warm with outdoor heaters. They can also enjoy a variety of international winter foods on the streets of downtown Chicago.

“We will be serving warming food like hearty fish stew and giant housemade Bavarian pretzels with horseradish cheddar dipping sauce, plus hot cocktails like a toasty spiced pear Hot Toddy; stuff you'd want to eat when it’s cold outside anyhow!” Kahan said.

The restaurant is calling the new experience a biergarten and, considering many beer gardens close down for the winter, this may be a new niche to embrace the European mentality and keep workers employed.

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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