(Above) Base of Marina City’s west tower in 2010, showing Dick’s Last Resort at lower left, Smith & Wollensky at lower right, and Subway in center frame. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

By Steven Dahlman

18-Jul-23 – Shuttered for the past three years, a large commercial space overlooking the Chicago River from Marina City is getting a new tenant.

Legal Sea Foods, a seafood brand based in Boston, with 25 locations along the East Coast, announced on Monday it is building its first Chicago restaurant in space previously occupied by Dick’s Last Resort.

The parent company of Legal Sea Foods, PPX Hospitality Brands, also owns Smith & Wollensky, a chain of steakhouses, one of which is also located at Marina City. In 2020, Legal Sea Foods quietly set up a “virtual kitchen” at the Smith & Wollensky in Chicago. Offering food for pickup and delivery, the kitchen, says PBX Hospitality Brands, helped “test the waters” in Chicago for its New England-style seafood.

“As part of the PPX Hospitality Brands family, this new location is a true testament to our company’s overall growth and commitment to delivering exceptional dining experiences to cities across the country,” said Legal Sea Foods President/COO Matt King (left).

“Chicago’s vibrant dining scene and diverse palate presents a huge opportunity for us to showcase a uniquely ‘Legal’ seafood experience to Chicagoans. We’ll soon be dubbing this new riverfront location our Midwest flagship,” said King.

The menu will include the usual seafood fare, such as clam chowder, baked haddock, oysters, shellfish, and Maine lobster, but also Lobster Mac N Cheese and sushi.

There will be two bar areas, outdoor dining, and private dining rooms. PPX Hospitality Brands says the restaurant will open this winter.

The plan also includes space on the plaza level of Marina City, at the base of the west tower, that was previously occupied by a Subway fast-food restaurant. According to Kim Lapine, Chief Marketing Officer at PPX Hospitality Brands, the two spaces will be connected with “a grand staircase.”

“We are at the very early stages of construction and have only [demolished] the lower level so far,” said Lapine (right).

According to the company’s website, Legal Sea Foods started in 1950 as a fish market in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The name originates from a family-owned grocery store adjacent to the market, known as Legal Cash Market, where customers were given “Legal Stamps,” similar to S&H green stamps, which, according to the website, “became synonymous with quality and freshness.”

The first Legal Sea Foods restaurant opened in 1968. It was acquired by PPX Hospitality Brands in 2020.

In December 2019, the 13 remaining Dick’s Last Resort locations were sold to Déjà vu Services, Inc., a Las Vegas-based operator of approximately 132 strip clubs in the United States and five other countries. By April 2020, the Dick’s Last Resort at Marina City had been boarded up while closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Left) Main entrance to Dick’s Last Resort, on the west side of Marina City, on April 18, 2020.

The restaurant chain was known for its laid-back atmosphere and obnoxious servers. The Dick’s Last Resort in Chicago, owned by Dallas entrepreneur Steven Schiff, moved to Marina City in 2008 from the River East neighborhood. Schiff sold the location to investors in 2017.