Think Chicago’s winter is bad? Transport yourself back to January of 10,000 BC.
Though we were treated to some wonderful weather this fall, it was the same old anxious autumnal wait for the Midwest’s fierce winter to announce itself. With indoor dining off the table due to the pandemic, the impending weather presented a plethora of problems for Chicago’s bars and restaurants. The hospitality industry needed to adapt and adapt it did. Winter has settled in and we have a great variety of unique winter hideouts to get us through these teeth-chattering months ahead.
One of the most glorious results can be found down at Swift & Sons in Fulton Market. A yurt village has been erected outside the upmarket American steakhouse and each yurt has been decorated to transport you to a different decade in time. The restaurant gets its name a 19th-century “titan” of the cattle industry named Gustavus Franklin Swift, but if you’re to head down to Swift & Sons this winter, you’ll be taking a trip many centuries further back than the days of Mr. Swift.
Called “The Swift Alps”, and launched in association with Resy and American Express, the yurt village offers yurts from different decades. There are yurts that will take you back to 10,000 BC and others that will fast forward you to the future and into the third millennium AD.
Thanks to the innovative work from Kehoe Designs, a Chicago-based event design and decor company, the yurts have been extravagantly and extraordinarily constructed with pine garlands, fuzzy blankets, and a variety of intricate details giving each yurt its own unique identity. Tasked with bringing to life a winter in various different decades Swift & Sons and Kehoe Designs have created ‘A winter journey through the ages’ and a Chicago winter must-do.
There are 10 different options to choose from ranging from 10,000 BC to the year 3000. An Instagram post for the 1950s “Dreamboat” yurt reads “Under the twinkle lights, lean into the 1950’s feel of our Dreamboat Chalet. With bold woodgrain prints, retro snowflakes and skis, this chalet transports you back in time to Martinis, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe.”
“A world of fire and ice embodied by mirrored and clear surfaces against polar pelts” can be found in “The Future” yurt whilst a “Chic cavemen dine amidst Jurrasic-era fronds and cones” is offered by the 10,000 BC “Fire & Stone“. However, it’s “The Gatsby” of the roaring twenties and “The Technicolor” of the swinging sixties that we’re eyeing up.
An Alpine-inspired prix-fixe menu completes the fantastical après-ski experience offering some mouth-watering, body-warming, options. The largest yurts can be rented for up to 6 diners though several other sizes offer yurts for smaller parties or romantic nights that will not be forgotten. The small catch is that the $85 reservations are only available to those with American Express cards so you’ll need to find that friend who has one if you don’t.
The yurt village will be available through February 28, 2021, and several other yurt villages can be found in cities across the country.