Boulder-Born The Kitchen Heads To Chi-Town On An Expansion Mission

Boulder-grown restaurant the Kitchen is opening a new location in the River North neighborhood. Except in this case, its new neighborhood isn't the artsy, hipster hangout that North industrial Denverites now call home, but instead north of the Chicago River. The new digs are in Chi-Town's historic Reid Murdoch building at 316 N. Clark Street. Co-owner Hugo Matheson revealed the tentative plans to open in the Windy City to Eater in July, but now the deal is sealed.

The expansion comes after the Kitchen Community, the philanthropic arm of The Kitchen, planted 100 Learning Gardens in Chicago schools to benefit more than 50,000 kids in the area. The Kitchen Chicago will donate one Learning Garden per year and continue to raise funds to support local kids.

A learning garden is "an attractive outdoor classroom and experiential play space with edible vegetables," the Kitchen Community website says. These gardens give kids experience growing their own food, ultimately fulfilling the Kitchen Community's mission to decrease childhood obesity, improve academic performance, and strengthen communities. For a list of all the learning gardens in the country, click here.

Also in store for the Kitchen is a new location in Fort Collins, slated to open later this year. And a location in California is likely in the restaurant's future too.

· After City Set, the Kitchen Will Expand Out of State [EDen]
· Colorado-Based The Kitchen Coming to River North [Eater Chicago]
· The Twelve Most Anticipated Openings of 2014 [EDen]