{"id":5877,"date":"2024-11-03T01:48:29","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T01:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.newat9.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/03\/taqueria-chingon-to-close-in-bucktown\/"},"modified":"2024-11-03T01:48:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T01:48:29","slug":"taqueria-chingon-to-close-in-bucktown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tech.newat9.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/03\/taqueria-chingon-to-close-in-bucktown\/","title":{"rendered":"Taqueria Chingon to Close in Bucktown"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Despite national and local acclaim, one of Chicago\u2019s best taquerias is closing at the end of the month. Taqueria Ching\u00f3n<\/a>, a small taco shop in Bucktown will shutter on Tuesday, November 26.<\/p>\n

Co-owner Oliver Poilevey says he chef Marcos Ascencio discussed three options \u2014 to continue with the status quo and try to make things work, to reconcept, or to sell the building. They opted for No. 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife\u2019s too short to deal with this, and we\u2019re just not making enough money, and it seems like the odds are stacked against us for, at least, this current iteration,\u201d Poilevey says.<\/p>\n

Owned by the family behind the iconic French restaurant Le Bouchon<\/a>, Ching\u00f3n opened in December 2020<\/a> as carryout-only at 2234 N. Western Avenue. Even during prime COVID, the restaurant rose in the ranks as one of the top spots for tacos in the city due to attention to detail and quality ingredients. The taqueria provided a launching pad for Poilevey and Ascencio to open two acclaimed restaurants, Obelix in River North and Mariscos San Pedro<\/a> in Pilsen. Ching\u00f3n provided Ascencio, a Chicago native, with a larger stage. The food was reminiscent of the backyard barbecues the chef would throw at home.<\/p>\n

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Some of the best tacos in Chicago.<\/figcaption>Garrett Sweet<\/a>\/Eater Chicago<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Oliver and his brother, Nicolas Poilvey, run Le Bouchon, a family-owned staple since 1993. The younger generation has applied their stamp on the restaurant, which is dressing up for Halloween as Red Lobster<\/a>. Reservations are fully booked.<\/p>\n

Detractors still see tacos as cheap eats, oblivious to the time and labor. They\u2019ve been programmed by Taco Bell at an early age. At Ching\u00f3n, premium came with a higher price, a zone where the staff was comfortable residing \u2014 the goal was to give Chicago something different. An octopus taco carved off the trompo is an example.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s hope that Poilevey and Ascencio could bring the restaurant back to a new location. Poilevey says it would be great to partner with someone with capital like they\u2019re doing in Pilsen with 16\u201d on Center and Mariscos San Pedro. He insisted that the restaurant in Thalia Hall<\/a>, which opened over the summer<\/a>, has zero impact on the decision to close Ching\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Though they were doing some prep work for Ching\u00f3n at a downstairs kitchen in Obelix<\/a>, the Poileveys\u2019 River North restaurant, there still wasn\u2019t enough room. More space for the kitchen and indoor seating \u2014 something Ching\u00f3n doesn\u2019t possess \u2014 are essential for future success. Without indoor seating, the winters are quiet for the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis winter, we\u2019re just going to kind of just chill out a little bit and just focus on what we have,\u201d Poilevey says. \u201cI\u2019m really, really confident that there will be a 2.0 somewhere and that we\u2019ll be able to hit the ground running.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Poileveys own the entire building, including a house in the back.<\/figcaption>Garrett Sweet\/Eater Chicago<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Increased competition is another factor. For example, Tacombi \u2014 a chain backed by millions<\/a> from Shake Shake founder Danny Meyer \u2014 arrived in Chicago last year. They\u2019ve been receiving recent attention after the chain announced a special collaboration<\/a> with El Califa de Le\u00f3n, Mexico City\u2019s only Michelin-starred taqueria. Partnering with El Califa lends credibility to Tacombi, a chain with 19 locations in New York, Chicago, Florida, and the D.C. area. They have plans for 60 new locations in the next five years or so. Taco chains like Tacombi, Bodega<\/a>, and Velvet Taco<\/a> have saturated Chicago. Poilevey also mentions Big Star<\/a>, the taco brand from One Off Hospitality Group<\/a>, which has locations in Wicker Park, West Town, and Wrigleyville.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re Big Star, you\u2019re selling \u2014 you know \u2014 a bunch of margaritas every day,\u201d Poilevey says. \u201cYou can make it that way. But if you\u2019re not, then it\u2019s just the price of food, the prices of labor for making food. It\u2019s just hard to make it as a small business.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 2020 to 2023, or so, the city of Chicago was backed up with permit requests dealing with the pandemic. Poilevey says it took an abnormal amount of time, two years, to secure a liquor license for Ching\u00f3n \u2014 which happened in 2023. Apparently, a previous landlord remodeled the space \u2014 they moved a door \u2014 without the required city permit. The city took its frustrations out on Ching\u00f3n, even though they had nothing to do with the change, and delayed issuing the liquor license. That delay stained Ching\u00f3n\u2019s reputation, as customers typecast the restaurant as a to-go-only operation, rather than what Poilevey imagined, a place to hang out with drinks on the patio. <\/p>\n

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Quality meats come with a price.<\/figcaption>Garrett Sweet\/Eater Chicago<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Beyond the advantage of consistent liquor sales, delivery plays a big role in the modern restaurant with third-party delivery companies wielding increasing influence. That\u2019s created a different breed of competition when chains, that can better afford the fees administered by DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, are pitted against independents.<\/p>\n

Poilevey says the city\u2019s recklessness played another role last summer when crews severed a sewer line causing flooding to his property: \u201cWe basically had to cancel the whole summer because the city fucked up,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

It also prevented Poilevey from renting out the house behind the restaurant. They paid about $25,000 in repairs without any accountability or aid from the city: \u201cI\u2019m getting pretty jaded with this city, as far as, like \u2014 you know \u2014 being friendly toward small businesses like us,\u201d Poilevey says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wish the city was just a little bit more helpful and friendly, and wanted us to succeed a little bit more,\u201d he adds. \u201cI don\u2019t want a whole city full of chain restaurants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taqueria Ching\u00f3n<\/em><\/a>, closing on November 26 at 2234 N. Western Avenue<\/em><\/p>\n