Bonny's (2417 N Milwaukee Ave), the late-night Logan Square bar that opened less than two years ago, is closing its doors this weekend—reluctantly. "Business is great," says Bonny's co-owner Mandy Tandy. But, unfortunately, "all that money goes to lawyers." Beginning four months after its opening, Bonny's has been in a protracted legal battle with its landlords. While the case is in court, the city has let Bonny's stay open on appeals, but "the appeals have run out," Tandy says. She declined to speak about the nature of the dispute but she says: "We're on the right side of litigation against our landlord, but the city needs an answer from the court case; they can't wait to see who's right or wrong, so they don't want anybody operating until there has been a decision made....Our hands our tied." There is a chance that the dispute could be resolved at the last minute, but "we're not holding our breath," Tandy says.  In the meantime, she and co-owner Andy Gould are focusing their attention on their other bar, Scofflaw, and are considering other locations for a bar. "It's not the end for Bonny's or the dance party it's had for the last two years," Tandy says. Nine DJs will be in house at Bonny's tonight, with dance parties continuing through Saturday night; stop by to bid the bar farewell. 

As a child, January Overton (a former TOC account manager) was on vacation with her parents when she saw a figurine of a jackalope—a mythical animal that's a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope—in an antique store. "Later I found out [jackalopes] weren't real, and I was heartbroken," Overton says. Still, she continued to love the folklore and mystery behind the jackalope, so much so that when she and her husband planned their coffee house, they named it (and decorated it) in the creature's honor. 

Overton, a proud Bridgeport native, has dreamed for years of opening a social, community space in the neighborhood. "There's never been a doubt in my mind that I would open anything anywhere but Bridgeport," she says. "I can walk into any business [in Bridgeport] at any given time and know probably four people." It's that sense of community she hopes to foster at the Jackalope, a place, she says, where both longtime Bridgeport residents and the new influx of artist-types can be comfortable. That's why she wanted a larger space (Jackalope has two rooms) where students can come in and do study groups or stay-at-home parents can come in and have playgroups. "We're striving to have that good, social community vibe where people don't have to feel like they have to be really quiet," Overton says. Speaking of noise, Overton and her husband both play in bands, and the Jackalope is zoned for live music.

The Jackalope will serve Metropolis Coffee—drip for the first couple weeks, then adding a pour-over option later—Rishi Tea, and baked goods (such as bacon buns and ham-and-cheese croissants) from local institution Bridgeport Bakery, with a menu of soups, sandwiches and salads coming in November. The shop is slated to open next week, but friends and neighbors have already been by and noticed the jackalopes. "People come in and they're like, is that real?," says Overton. "And I'm like, of course it is!"

The Jackalope Coffee & Tea House (755 W 32nd St) is slated to open Friday, September 22.

A couple weeks ago, we heralded the fact that modern Asian cuisine seems to finally be trending on a large scale. A big part of that thesis depended on Embeya, a collaboration between Attila Gyulai (a former bigwig at the Elysian and Four Seasons) and chef Thai Dang (a veteran of RIA and L2O). Well, Embeya will quietly open its doors today, and looking at its menu, it's clear that, yup, modern Asian cuisine: still trending. Dang's menu appears to include influences from Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam and France (or perhaps simply post-colonial Vietnam), and it reads contemporary and chef-y (see: stuffed squid with bone marrow and finger limes).

Embeya (which was designed by 555 International and features a riesling-focused wine list) is located at 564 W Randolph St (312-612-5640), an area of the West Loop that keeps getting more crowded (and we haven't seen the last of it yet: Grace is still on the way). The full food menu is after the jump.

A blast of details were just released about Bar Pastoral (the neighborhood bistro from the owners of the cheese retailer), the most intriguing of which is that Chrissy Camba, formerly of Vincent, will be the chef. In case you were wondering whether Bar Pastoral would be more than wine, cheese and charcuterie, this is a solid answer in the affirmative: Camba's menu will include not only house-made pâtés and pickles, but also more substantial dishes, such as braised veal breast and sliced roasted lamb shoulder with Delicata squash. Cheese will play a starring role in many dishes, such as roasted ham with boiled heirloom potatoes and Spring Brook Raclette, a beet salad with Challerhocker, and warm Rush Creek Reserve with house-made sausage and crusty baguette, with prices ranging from $8–18. 

But wait, there's more news: Bar Pastoral will feature a a cheese and charcuterie bar, overseen by Bryan Bland, third place winner of the International Cheesemonger Invitational, which we did not know existed but now are pretty much going to do anything to figure out how to attend. (Bland challenged "competitors with cheese-focused events including a blind tasting, cheese wrapping and cheese plate design," according to the press release.)

GM Mark Hayes will oversee the beverage program, which will include 16 by-the-glass pours priced at $10 per glass (also available in half-pours), and some rare finds like a sparkling wine on tap made exclusively for Bar Pastoral by Michigan’s L. Mawby. In addition to wine, the restaurant will have craft beer on tap and will feature one local distillery each quarter, offering three craft cocktails from a single distillery (e.g., Koval, FEW, Journeyman, North Shore Distillery). 

Bar Pastoral (2947 N Broadway Ave, pastoralartisan.com) is slated to open in October.