22-Jun-17 – Moving from West Hollywood to River North, two executive chefs have been hired for the Japanese restaurant being constructed at Marina City.

Jose “Junior” Melendez will be the executive chef and Robert Juan will be executive sushi chef when Katana opens in late summer, Innovative Dining Group announced on Wednesday.

Both Melendez and Juan worked previously at the Katana location in West Hollywood, located about ten miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Executive Chef Jose “Junior” Melendez (left) and Executive Sushi Chef Robert Juan (right). Photo obtained from Katana.

Katana, says Melendez, has “been a longtime culinary staple in Los Angeles for robata and sushi, and it’s a natural fit that we build an establishment in [Chicago] the city that is a top culinary fortress.”

Robata is short for Robatayaki, which IDG describes as “a cutting-edge form of traditional Japanese BBQ, offering the best of both worlds – exceptional raw and cooked cuisine.”

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, Juan has worked at Fairmont Chicago in the Loop and was most recently the executive sous chef at Katana West Hollywood.

“I am happy to return home, as a great deal of our guests at Katana West Hollywood are from Chicago,” says Juan. “Whether they be transplant residents, vacationers, or business travelers, we realized there was a desire for our food offerings and atmosphere in the Windy City.” The 299-seat Katana Chicago is being built at a cost of $650,000 in 12,730 square feet of commercial space in the southwest corner of Hotel Chicago. The space was previously used by BIN 36, a restaurant that moved in late 2014 to a slightly smaller space in the West Loop. (Right) Another dish Katana will serve, Kurobuta pork sausage wrapped in guanciale.