Gingie Chicago: River North Hearth Cooking Back After the Kitchen Fire

Gingie Chicago is back: Boka Restaurant Group’s contemporary American hearth room at 707 N. Wells Street in River North, chef-partner Brian Lockwood, à la carte cooking built around live fire, and a second opening that finally arrived on Saturday, August 29, 2026. The first chapter lasted three days. A kitchen fire on Sunday evening, March 29, three nights after the March 26 debut, sent the room dark for about five months. People are coming back for the night that was supposed to define the address: open hearth, seasonal plates, and a Wells Street dining room made for a long, easy dinner.

Why Gingie Chicago’s return matters

This Saturday return is a true second opening. The address, the chef-partner and the spirit are all the same: à la carte, seasonal, live fire, with the critics’ verdicts still to come.

Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz are the group. The space is the former GT Prime. The Chicago Tribune’s March 18 preview described French, Italian, and Japanese influences on a contemporary American frame. Boka’s late-summer language, carried in Newcity’s August 24 culture notes, leaned atmospheric: nostalgia, “unfamiliar flavors feel somehow familiar.” Treat that as the group describing the room they reopened, not as a verdict on the plates. The interesting question now is whether the hearth cooking that was supposed to define Gingie is actually on the table.

There is a simpler pleasure, too, in watching a River North room get a second chance at a first season. March was three nights and a grease chute. August is the real welcome: OpenTable live, hours posted, Lockwood back on the hearth, and a dessert list that wants you to linger. If you are sorting Chicago contemporary American rooms by neighborhood and format, put this one on Wells: à la carte, live fire, and a Boka partnership that waited for this room.

The food: hearth plates for sharing

À la carte. Seasonal. Live fire. The homepage list on gingiechicago.com as of August 30, 2026, with prices as posted: mushroom-sweetbread cornets at $21 with black truffle bavarois; embered oysters at market price with garlic, ginger, and lime; black pepper tofu rice at $25; squid ink chitarra at $27 with clam, mussel, hot pepper, and lemon; grilled heritage half chicken at $46 with sansho pepper, yuzu yogurt, daikon, and shiso; ribeye at $59 with hyssop, lettuce, and ginger-onion; honey meringue at $16; Gingie sundae for two at $20; chocolate tart at $16 with salted caramel, brown butter, and chantilly cream.

The heritage chicken is the plate to read carefully. Boka’s late-summer note, via Newcity, said the heritage half chicken returns and the press version listed pickled daikon. The site lists daikon with yuzu yogurt, shiso, and sansho pepper. Those are two wordings of a returning chicken, not one combined plate. If you care about the garnish, read the card in the room. Boka also said tortelloni with Délice de Bourgogne, corn, and black truffle, plus a lobster-stuffed tomato with Calabrian chili and summer blossoms, were joining late-summer dinner: those two were not on the homepage scrape August 30. They may sit on a fuller menu or rotate. Do not treat them as currently listed on the site.

The range is clear even from the homepage: a $21 cornet and a $25 tofu rice next to a $59 ribeye, plus a sundae built for two. This is a Boka à la carte dinner with hearth heat and a dessert list that wants you to stay past the main.

The room and the fire story, briefly

Gingie Chicago sits at 707 N. Wells Street in River North: restaurant Wells, not the Merchandise Mart riverwalk a few blocks south. Phone listed with the Tribune’s August 25 reopening note: 312-600-6305. Hours on the site, matching Block Club: Sunday through Thursday 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10:30 p.m. Dinner only. No lunch on the posted list.

The closure was a kitchen fire on Sunday evening, March 29, 2026. CBS Chicago reported a grease-chute fire, no injuries, nearby restaurants evacuated, Chicago Fire Department on scene. The restaurant’s own language called it a “minor kitchen fire,” said all guests and employees were safe, and said they would contact upcoming reservations. Both versions can be true. The useful fact for diners is the operational one: the room went dark for the rest of spring and most of summer. Boka did not move the restaurant. It did not rebrand. It waited, rebuilt the kitchen, and pointed reservations back to OpenTable. If you are booking now, the fire is context, not the menu.

Brian Lockwood and the Gingie Chicago point of view

Brian Lockwood is chef-partner: his first brick-and-mortar after work as a consulting chef on FX/Hulu’s “The Bear.” Behind that is a long career that includes time in Michelin-starred kitchens.

The partnership to watch is Lockwood with Boehm and Katz. Boka already knows how to open and reopen rooms in this city. The fire made this one a longer first year than anyone wanted. The official site currently greets diners with a welcome-back note and live reservations. Instagram is @gingiechicago.

How to book

Reservations live on OpenTable. Book there, or call 312-600-6305. Then come for Lockwood’s hearth cooking, a heritage chicken that came back with the reopening, and a Boka room that finally gets a real first season.

Who Gingie Chicago is for

This is for diners who want contemporary American à la carte with live-fire energy: dates, small groups, people who love to share a ribeye and a sundae for two. It is for locals who waited through the five-month pause and still want to see what the hearth can do on a normal Tuesday. Read the menu, order generously and leave room for dessert.

A few practical notes

• Address: 707 N. Wells St., Chicago (River North; former GT Prime).
• Hours: Sun–Thu 5–10 p.m.; Fri–Sat 5–10:30 p.m. · dinner only.
• Reopened: Saturday, August 29, 2026 (first open March 26; fire March 29).
• Book: OpenTable · 312-600-6305.
• House: gingiechicago.com · @gingiechicago.

Gingie Chicago FAQ

What is Gingie Chicago?

Boka Restaurant Group’s contemporary American restaurant in River North at 707 N. Wells, with chef-partner Brian Lockwood. À la carte hearth cooking: no tasting menu.

When did Gingie Chicago reopen?

Saturday, August 29, 2026, about five months after a March 29 kitchen fire closed the room three days after its March 26 debut.

How do I book Gingie Chicago?

OpenTable at opentable.com/r/gingie-chicago, or call 312-600-6305. No Resy or Tock listing.

What are the hours?

Sunday through Thursday 5–10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5–10:30 p.m. Dinner only.

Does Gingie Chicago have a Michelin star?

No. Chicago Michelin status for Gingie is none. Lockwood’s earlier Michelin-kitchen work does not transfer.

Gingie Chicago is the River North night that finally gets to start: Wells Street, Lockwood’s hearth, a heritage chicken back on the card, and a Boka room that waited five months to cook for real. When a weeknight opens, take it. The fire is the backstory. The fire is not the dinner.

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