The former home of McLoughlin’s in Riverfront Park will soon be occupied by the third brick-and-mortar location of Chuey Fu’s, a Latin-Asian fusion concept that will expand on its Latin offerings, as first reported by Business Den.
McLoughlin’s was one of a string of Irish pub concepts to close its doors last June after 12 years in business, but is survived by sister pubs The Irish Snug, Slattery’s Irish Pub, and Maggie Smith’s Irish Pub. It joined The Tilted Kilt, Katie Mullen’s, Fado Irish Pub, and Conor O’Neill’s in closing; all were longtime residents of the downtown bar scene.
At the time of closure, owner Jim McLoughlin cited the numerous challenges for Riverfront Park restaurateurs, including competition, lack of parking, endless construction, and the numerous homeless residing in the park.
Now, half of what was McLoughlin’s will become a new type of Chuey Fu’s concept, says owner Joe Knoblich. The space is at 2100 16th St., near the base of the Millennium Bridge, which Knoblich hopes will attract nearby residents who are eager for more than a bar experience.
“You have everything over in Union Station, but no one on this side of the bridge is doing a taco and burrito thing in this part of the neighborhood,” he says. Instead of the Asian-Latin fusion menu featured at the other Chuey Fu’s, the new restaurant will focus solely on a Baja-style Mexican menu.
The same plaza is home to Menya Ramen & Poke (which replaced the Little Raven Café less than a year ago) and Wayward (which took over the former longtime Zengo and La Guera Gastro Cantina spaces in May of last year). The La Guera concept was open a mere seven months and has become a fun and hip seasonal pop-up bar attached to Wayward that’s accessed through a huge door connecting the two spaces.
Past iterations have included Miracle, a Christmas-themed cocktail bar; The Olympic Bar (so we can drink and watch luging simultaneously); and The Spring Break Bar, giving us the 1980s- style Miami Beach vacay our parents never let us have. With all the activity in the area, Knoblich is eager to take his business in a different direction.
“It’s great when a restaurant can branch out and try something new, step outside of the box a little,” he says.
While Chuey Fu’s typical offerings blend together flavors in dishes like chipotle miso soup and pho burritos, the new location will focus on more traditional style tacos, like a seared ahi taco, pork carnitas, and grilled or battered fish tacos. It will have a raw bar that serves fresh oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp and also will serve weekend brunch featuring dishes like churro waffles, crab cake benedict, breakfast tacos and burritos, and scramble bowls.
Knoblich stared Chuey Fu’s as a food truck (which is still up and running) in 2013, subsequently opening on Santa Fe in June 2016 and in Englewood in October 2017. Because Chuey Fu’s will share the block with a place that offers poke and ramen, Knoblich plans to offer the neighborhood a different menu (geared toward traditional Mexican food) than at his other locations.
“We want to be good neighbors and not step on any toes, so we’re doing a Baja cantina type of place,” says Knoblich. Chuey Fu’s Baja Cantina will have a Baja-centric beachy vibe rather than the arty urban feel of the other two spaces. The interior will likely have the same unique artwork, but with bright SoCal- inspired yellows and blues.
“It’s definitely going to look different in here,” says Knoblich.
Chuey Fu’s Baja Cantina, 2100 16th St. in the Riverfront Park area. Expected to open in June.
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