Owner George Liakopoulos is rebranding the Plymouth Restaurant’s rooftop as Pancho’s Cantina.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Plymouth Restaurant & Bar will reopen its rooftop on Wednesday with new decor and a new menu as part of its rebranding as a Mexican-style bar called Pancho’s Cantina.
The restaurant, which had opened at 327 S. Plymouth Court in 2005 and featured a huge green neon sign that was visible from the nearby L and the street below, had shut down in March.
“Everything stays the same, the same owners, the same everything,” said George Liakopoulos, the principal at Diamond Properties, which has owned the building in the Loop for 20 years. “The only thing that is going to change is the name and the decor.”
Before it closed, Plymouth served traditional American fare and was popular for its happy hour, especially among downtown workers, Liakopoulos said.
“It was the place to be, especially on the rooftop after 4 or 5 o’clock,” Liakopoulos said. “It was the happy hour place, the after-work place.”
Tensions rose between businesses along South Plymouth Court and the former Standard Club across the street, which became a migrant shelter last May.
“It is just the optics for a restaurant that relies on people to come in, eat and spend money,” Liakopoulos said. “It just didn’t look good.”
Before that, when the pandemic hit, fewer people were downtown, Liakopoulos said. Over the last year, he took “heavy losses,” prompting the change.
Though Pancho’s new menu has items such as tacos and wings, the rooftop bar will specialize in happy hour, Liakopoulos said. He hopes the spot will appeal to a variety of customers, including residents in the area and a younger crowd.
“Plymouth was more of an old-time restaurant. The people are not there anymore,” Liakopoulos said.
Izzy Kharasch, president of Hospitality Works Consulting, said the rebrand could be “magic.”
“The clientele today is not looking for the traditional Mexican, as we might have known it 10 years ago,” Kharasch said. “It [should be] interesting, innovative and high quality.”
If the Mexican theme is popular on the rooftop, Liakopoulos said he plans to transfer that downstairs.
“We’re going to do this in phases,” Liakopoulos said.
For now, Plymouth Restaurant on the first floor will host private events and do catering. The restaurant uses the third floor for washrooms, storage and offices. The building’s second floor is an attorney’s office.
Liakopoulos owns six restaurants, including White Palace Grill in the South Loop, which opened in 1939, one of the city’s oldest diners.
“It’s even new for us, too, because we usually do diners or fast food,” Liakopoulos said. “I think it’s going to be good.”
Liakopoulos, who was born and raised in Chicago, said despite the troubles, he does not want to “walk away” from the restaurant. “Plymouth” has been removed from the giant sign; it will be replaced with “Pancho’s.”
“I believe in the neighborhood,” Liakopoulos said. “I believe in the location I’ve been in for 20 years.”