The design and décor - plenty of exposed brick and beams - are comfortable and stylish, but could have come from anywhere. Their success has come even though not much about Rush Street, other than its name, is particularly reminiscent of Chicago. So far, on both concept and execution, the trio looks like geniuses. Now he's partners with Tom Patchett and Ken Kaufman in Rush Street.
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Even though restaurant operations are in his DNA, McKeaney left the family business to move to Southern California, hooking up with Culver City-based Patchett Kaufman Entertainment (producers of ALF and many other TV shows and movies). Rush Street is the brainchild of native Chicagoan Brian McKeaney, whose family owns 13 restaurants on the Rush Street strip, six of them located on a single block. This lack of attitude has struck a nerve with patrons. The place has drawn huge crowds since it opened in July, testimony to its positioning as a hip-enough, although not-totally-Hollywood-hip, nightspot.
Rush Street is big (6,000 square feet) and bustling (total capacity: 286), qualities in short supply in or near Culver City. It's likely that few individuals within this restaurant's intended customer base have ever visited the actual Rush Street in Chicago many more probably don't even know where or what it is, or why they'd want to go.īut what they do know is that they're in love with the California-ized version of it that's sprung up in L.A. The town is a movie-making mecca that's home to Sony Pictures Studio and other high-powered entertainment companies. But what's the attraction to Angelenos, few of whom harbor fantasies about traveling to a Midwest city notorious for bad weather to experience Rush Street, Chicago-style?Īfter all, Southern California has a premier warm-weather climate and Culver City, where Rush Street is located, is enjoying a restaurant renaissance right now.
It's meant to evoke a mile-long stretch in downtown Chicago that's lined with restaurants and bars and, most importantly, people. Just pick a city and you've got a rationale for your menu, design and décor.īut Rush Street in Los Angeles has given an unusual spin to this naming notion. That's why you'll find operations like a Key West Café in Cleveland, a Santa Fe Café in Seattle and seven - count 'em - Jackson Holes in New York City. Geography-based themes are proven winners in the restaurant business, with the idea being to name your operation after a place that has a better climate and/or a more glamorous vibe than the one it's actually in.