“The nearly five-decade home of Les Nomades in Chicago is for sale in a deal expected to end a nearly half-century run of the acclaimed French restaurant.
“Newmark brokers are listing the three-story building that houses the restaurant at 222 E. Ontario St. for sale, with the space listed as available for the buyer’s use. The asking price is $3.4 million, according to one of the Newmark brokers, James Schutter.
“The marketing efforts signal that the restaurant, which Chicago restaurateur Jovan Trboyevic initially opened as a private club in 1978, is nearing the end of nearly five decades in business in Streeterville.
“Newmark is marketing the property as a rare opportunity to own a historic, single-tenant building in the area. The building, completed in 1881, is between Magnificent Mile shopping and the Ohio Street Beach.
“‘It was a beautiful mansion that was converted to a restaurant, so I could see someone converting it back to a residence,’ Schutter said. ‘Or it would have to be a high-end restaurant like a Charlie Trotter’s, where someone falls in love with what they could do with such a unique space.’
“If Les Nomades does make way for a new concept, it will mark the end of a luxury dining experience from another era.
“‘There’s nothing this restaurant does that isn’t stylish,’ Chicago Tribune critic Phil Vettel wrote in a four-star review in 2019. ‘I’d phone this restaurant just to listen to the hold music (which is classical and beautiful because of course it is).’
“Les Nomades chef Roland Liccioni last year was recognized for his career accomplishments by the Chicago-based Jean Blanchet Awards for Culinary Excellence not long after he announced his retirement.
“Mary Beth Liccioni said she continues to run the restaurant while preparing for the likelihood of closing. Roland Liccioni continues to help in the kitchen, she said, but efforts to hire a long-term new chef have been put on hold.
“‘I don’t think we’ll be in the picture after the building sells,’ she said.”
222 E. Ontario Street is one of the 15 buildings that comprise The Near North Multiple Property Chicago Landmark District. The City of Chicago Commission on Chicago Landmarks, Preservation Chicago, and neighborhood preservation partners organizations worked together to support the preservation advocacy effort that resulted in the creation of this Chicago Landmark District.