Owners of Deleece to Launch Shochu, a New Restaurant and Lounge, in Wrigleyville

CHICAGO (February 7, 2008) - Lynne Wallack and John Handler, husband and wife owners of the popular Lakeview restaurant Deleece, plan to launch a new restaurant and lounge, Shochu (pronounced show-chew), in April at 3313 N. Clark St. in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago. Josh Hansen will be the executive chef and partner in the new venture and will continue to head the kitchen at Deleece (4004 N. Southport; 773-325-1710).

Shochu will be a unique, first of its kind small plate restaurant and lounge, named for shochu, the #1 Japanese distilled spirit typically made from rice, barley, sweet potatoes or black sugar. "Shochu will be the first stylish, contemporary American restaurant to feature shochu as its signature liquor," said Wallack. "The cocktail menu will feature a large collection of delicious cocktails that showcase this wonderful beverage like shochu with guava and ginger or shochu with green apple and lychee. Of course at brunch we'll be serving shochu bloody marys and shochu mimosas."

Shochu's food offering will feature contemporary American small plates with an Asian edge. "On the coasts, the few restaurants featuring shochu are Japanese pubs (Izakayas) with traditional Japanese ambience and food," said Wallack. "Our restaurant will be the first American shochu lounge. We discovered what the Japanese and Koreans have been craving for years, and decided to introduce it to Chicago. It's fashionable, yet healthy. Or perhaps it's fashionable because it's healthy. Either way, we think that Chicagoans are going to love it."