Mauro Mafrici Chicago is the Mag Mile Italian return Chicago has been waiting to taste again: chef Mauro Mafrici and Kimberly Anguil Mafrici reclaiming Floor 2 of One Magnificent Mile at 980 N. Michigan Avenue, the same address that held Spiaggia and Café Spiaggia for decades. Crain’s broke the news in January 2026, and the opening date is still to come. People are excited anyway, because Mag Mile Italian at this altitude still feels like a ceremony.
Why Mauro Mafrici Chicago has people watching the building
The story is not “another Mag Mile Italian.” It is nostalgia for a defining Michigan Avenue dining room colliding with a chef whose Chicago résumé was Pelago in Streeterville and whose earlier New York chapter included Michelin-starred Lo Scalco. Putting that pedigree back into One Magnificent Mile is a different bet than a brand-new West Loop concept with no memory attached. Guests will walk in expecting Spiaggia’s myth. The opportunity is also real: Mafrici’s Chicago audience already knows his cooking vocabulary from Pelago, and a Mag Mile stage gives that vocabulary a rarer address.
The excitement is real: one of Chicago’s most visible dining addresses is coming back to life under a chef people already loved.
The Spiaggia address and the Mag Mile feeling
Address: 980 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 2, Chicago, IL 60611, One Magnificent Mile, at the corner of East Oak Street and North Michigan Avenue, across from Oak Street Beach on the north end of the Mag Mile. The second-floor Italian room there was a city landmark for nearly four decades. Spiaggia closed permanently in 2021 after 37 years amid pandemic-era lease disputes; the vacancy left one of Chicago’s most visible dining addresses dark.
That emptiness is why the anticipation sticks before a booker exists. Mag Mile Italian at this altitude is not interchangeable with a River North tasting or a West Loop grill. The building itself is a 1980s Skidmore, Owings & Merrill mixed-use tower; the restaurant story is Floor 2, not the retail podium or residential stack. Neighbors cited in early coverage include Doc B’s, Coq d’Or, and Le Colonial: useful for geography, not for menu predictions.
Exact suite language still needs honesty: early Crain’s coverage left it murky whether the Mafricis are taking the former Spiaggia dining room, the adjoining Café Spiaggia space, or both. Do not flatten that into a false certainty. What you can feel already is the ceremony of the corner: lake air, Michigan Avenue light, the kind of special-occasion address that makes people dress up before they even know the first plate.
Mauro Mafrici, Pelago, and the point of view
Mauro Mafrici is a Trieste-born Italian chef who ran Pelago Ristorante at 209 E. Delaware Place in Streeterville for roughly fifteen years before it closed at the end of 2022 after landlords declined to renew the lease. Before the Chicago chapter, he opened Lo Scalco in New York, which earned a Michelin star in its early years: pedigree that still shapes how Chicago watchers read a Mag Mile return. Kimberly Anguil Mafrici is co-owner.
Fans still remember Pelago’s butternut squash, roasted monkfish with potatoes and vegetarian lasagna, and the new Mag Mile menu is still under wraps. The opening is set for 2026.
When it opens
The opening date has not been announced yet; the house Instagram still promises “Coming to Chicago 2026.” The kitchen passed its health inspection in July and the liquor license came through in August, so the room is getting close.
Reservations have not opened yet, so watch the house Instagram for the first tables. Then come for Mag Mile Italian with Mafrici’s name on the door and Spiaggia’s ghost finally sharing the floor again.
There is also a quieter pleasure in watching a Mag Mile address wake up again. For years the second floor felt like a missing chapter on Michigan Avenue, a room people measured other Italian nights against, then a vacancy that made the corner feel unfinished. A Mafrici return promises Italian hospitality that belongs at that altitude: paced, generous, special-occasion without becoming stiff. When the doors finally open, that is the feeling Chicago will be chasing on Floor 2.
Who Mauro Mafrici Chicago is for
This is a night for diners who miss the ceremony of Michigan Avenue Italian: anniversary energy, out-of-town friends who ask what is actually special on the Mag Mile, locals who loved Pelago and want that craft back at a rarer address. It is for people who get excited about a building coming back to life as much as a menu drop.
It is the same building with a new chef and new owners, so expect Mag Mile Italian nostalgia with a fresh menu of its own.
A few practical notes while you wait
- Address: 980 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 2, Chicago (One Magnificent Mile).
- Opening: 2026, date to come.
- Reservations: not open yet.
- Further reading: Crain’s (Jack Grieve, Jan 16 2026), Hoodline, What Now Chicago.
Mauro Mafrici Chicago FAQ
Is Mauro Mafrici Chicago open yet?
Not yet. The opening is set for 2026, and the house Instagram will share the date.
Where is Mauro Mafrici Chicago?
980 N. Michigan Avenue, Floor 2, Chicago: One Magnificent Mile (former Spiaggia / Café Spiaggia building). Exact suite (dining room vs café vs both) was still murky in early Crain’s coverage.
Who owns Mauro Mafrici Chicago?
Chef Mauro Mafrici and Kimberly Anguil Mafrici. Mauro previously ran Pelago in Streeterville (~15 years; closed end of 2022) and earlier Lo Scalco in New York (Michelin-starred).
Can I make a reservation?
Not yet. Watch the house Instagram for the first reservations.
Does a liquor license mean it is open?
Not on its own. The liquor license came through in August 2026, and the opening date is still to be announced.
Mauro Mafrici Chicago is Mag Mile romance with a chef Chicago already trusts: Floor 2 of One Magnificent Mile, Spiaggia’s ghost in the building, Pelago’s craft in the story, and opening night still ahead. When reservations open, take the night for the address as much as the plate. Until then, watch the corner at Oak and Michigan light back up.
Published by ChiVibe. See our editorial standards and contact us about corrections or collaboration.
