Steadfast is a new brasserie-style restaurant in the heart of Chicago's Financial District that brings an innovative and chef-driven concept to the ground floor of The Kimpton Gray Hotel.
The Fifty/50 Group tapped New York City-based Parts and Labor Design to create an interior that celebrates the creative culinary spirit of the menu. Located in the former New York Life Insurance Building, Steadfast offers a modern perspective on the building's historic classical revival architecture.
The restaurant features a stunning private tasting room, completely clad in the the building's original (1900) marble. This room is protected as a National Historic Landmark. Guests enter through a custom angular partition and sliding doors, and are greeted by an elongated communal dining table and two tone blue dining stools.
Custom light fixtures and furniture are found throughout the restaurant, including modernized captain's chairs, which feature high-end bronze spokes-an innovative twist on this seating classic. Each space in the restaurant is connected visually through the building's original windows, which offer guests a glimpse into the neighboring dining experiences.
The main dining room is centered with a moody grey mirrored ceiling surrounded by blue painted coffers above back to back banquettes. A white metal and zinc bar join the cocktail and dining areas together, creating a unified space.
Where the historic building once housed a shoeshine store, there now exists an industrial style open-kitchen. Immediately adjacent are three custom chef's tables that connect guests with the action of the kitchen.
In the open-kitchen area, original elements were preserved, including the mosaic tiled floor, and a tobacconist sign that sits above the room's original brass door. The door now functions as a window that allows diners to peer into the charcuterie room, where hanging meats are displayed before they are prepared for service.
Photography: Emily Andrews