Ela Chicago: Old Town’s Everyday Greek Taverna Opens Sep 26

Ela Chicago — officially Ela Modern Greek Taverna — is the Old Town opening you plan for a weekday lunch that still tastes like a night out. Founder Shaina Hurley and Executive Chef & Partner Daniel Garabajiu are bringing everyday Greek Mediterranean cooking to 1551 N. Wells Street, with a hard open date of Saturday, September 26, 2026, according to the September 10 press release. Think gyros and grilled meats, salads and bowls, fries cooked in beef tallow, Greek yogurt soft serve, sweets, and handcrafted coffee — white-tablecloth quality without the white-tablecloth commitment.

The name Ela means "come" in Greek. That is the whole mood: come eat, come gather, come as you are — for thirty minutes or two hours.

What is Ela Chicago?

Ela Chicago is a modern Greek taverna designed for the way people actually eat now. The press framing is clear: an everyday restaurant between traditional fast Greek and special-occasion dining, built on high-quality meats, fresh vegetables, vibrant Mediterranean ingredients, simple preparation, and no seed oils.

Hurley has said she fell in love with how Greek culture gathers people around food, and that Ela is about sharing that feeling while respecting where it comes from — a place people can come back to often. Investor Aristotle Loumis put the customer pitch bluntly: he wants a legitimately great meal made with ingredients he feels good about, without always needing two hours for dinner.

That is the night (or afternoon) you are booking: a Wells Street stop that can be a business lunch, a family dinner, a date, a coffee run, or a meal on the way somewhere else — without lowering the bar on what lands on the plate.

When does Ela Chicago open?

Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 1551 N. Wells Street in Old Town. The EIN Presswire / XPR Newsroom release dated September 10, 2026 is the primary public confirmation; @elagreek has been teasing "a new taste of Greece is coming to Old Town" ahead of the door.

Mark the calendar for that Saturday if you want first-weekend energy on Wells. For day-of hours and soft cues as opening week approaches, watch the Instagram and elataverna.com.

Where is Ela Chicago, and what is the room like?

Address: 1551 N. Wells Street, Chicago — Old Town's Wells corridor, a stretch that already knows how to turn dinner into a neighborhood night.

Seats: roughly 70 indoors and 50 outdoors, per the release — enough room for a quick two-top or a longer table without feeling like a banquet hall.

Design: Chris Lardakis is leading development through CL Development, bringing a luxury residential sensibility to the build. The palette called out in press is Mediterranean blue, white oak, natural stone, woven textures, greenery, and warm lighting — a contemporary Greek island feel translated to Wells Street. Picture soft light on stone and oak, blue as an accent rather than a theme-park gesture, and greenery that makes the outdoor seats feel like part of the same invitation.

Old Town is walkable, L-adjacent (Sedgwick / North–Clybourn corridors depending on your route), and dense with pre- and post-dinner wandering. Ela Chicago is pitching itself as the place that fits into that night instead of demanding the whole evening.

What can you eat at Ela Chicago?

Chef Daniel Garabajiu grew up in his family's taverna on Lefkada, cooked at Principote in Mykonos, and built a Chicago résumé at Nisos, Andros Taverna, and Athena. At Ela Chicago, that path lands as familiar Greek flavors tuned for how Chicago eats today.

Public menu language from the release includes:

• Gyros
• Grilled meats
• Fresh salads and bowls
• Fries cooked in beef tallow
• Greek yogurt soft serve
• Greek-inspired sweets
• Handcrafted coffee

The kitchen brief is simple preparation and premium ingredients — not a tasting-menu performance, not a counter-only gyro window. Expect the kind of plate you want after a Wells Street stroll: something grilled and fragrant, a bowl with bright herbs and olive oil, fries that actually taste like fries, and a soft-serve finish that keeps you from needing a second stop for dessert.

Ela Chicago is also collaborating with Anastasia Ganias Gellin, founder of Fancy Peasant, on select products — two founders with different paths into Greek food culture (Hurley through a culture she came to love; Gellin through traditions she inherited and has been modernizing). Watch for those products as the room opens; they are named partners, not generic local-collab filler.

Who is behind Ela Chicago?

Shaina Hurley founded the restaurant. She is the entrepreneur and television personality known from Netflix's Love Is Blind; the release frames Ela as a new chapter built from her appreciation for Greek culture, introduced through her husband and deepened through family and time in Greece.

Daniel Garabajiu is Executive Chef & Partner — Lefkada roots, Mykonos stage, Chicago Greek dining rooms already on his résumé.

Chris Lardakis, Hurley's husband, is a Greek American restaurateur and developer, founder of Kanela Breakfast Club, and part of the ownership group. Through CL Development he is designing the space.

Investors Aristotle Loumis and Anthony Papagikos round out the ownership group with Lardakis — longtime friends connected by Greek culture, entrepreneurship, and hospitality. Loumis has spoken about the gap between fast Greek and special-occasion dining; Papagikos brings Greek Orthodox community ties and an investment background, per the release.

Press contact for the opening announcement is Ryan Beshel at SIX4 Creative (ryan@six4creative.com). For guest-facing updates, start with elataverna.com and @elagreek rather than hunting a restaurant phone that has not been published for diners.

What are the hours at Ela Chicago?

Seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with later weekend hours under consideration. That all-day window is the point: lunch bowls, afternoon coffee and soft serve, early dinner before a show, or a full evening table under the outdoor seats when the weather cooperates.

As opening week approaches, confirm any soft-open or hour tweaks on Instagram — the published baseline from the September 10 release is 11-to-10 daily.

How should you plan a night at Ela Chicago?

Plan Ela Chicago like a flexible Old Town night, not a tasting-menu campaign:

1. Pick the occasion first. Thirty-minute lunch, family dinner, date night, or coffee-and-soft-serve — the concept is built to hold all of those.
2. Aim for Wells. 1551 N. Wells puts you in Old Town's walkable core; pair it with a stroll or a nearby drink if you want the night to stretch.
3. Watch the outdoor seats. About 50 outdoor seats mean weather becomes part of the plan once September evenings cool.
4. **Follow @elagreek** for opening-week cues, specials, and the Fancy Peasant product drops as they land.
5. Use the site. elataverna.com is the named home for more information; treat it as the guest front door as booking tools (if any) go live.

No diner phone was published in the opening release — if you need press-path outreach, SIX4 Creative is the named contact; for a table, wait for the restaurant's own channels rather than hunting a number that is not public yet.

Why Ela Chicago matters for Chicago dining right now

Chicago already has destination Greek rooms and quick gyro counters. Ela Chicago is pitching the middle that busy nights actually need: chef-led Greek cooking you can use on a Tuesday and still feel good about on a Saturday. Hurley's public story and Garabajiu's Lefkada-to-Chicago path give the opening a clear face and kitchen spine; the design language (island blues, oak, stone, warm light) aims for a room you want to return to, not just photograph once.

Old Town gets a modern Greek everyday taverna with real outdoor capacity and hours that cover lunch through late dinner. If you have been looking for Greek that respects the tradition without demanding a white-tablecloth evening every time — this is the September 26 open to put on the calendar.

Ela Chicago FAQ

When does Ela Chicago open?

Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 1551 N. Wells Street in Old Town, per the September 10, 2026 press release.

What is the address for Ela Chicago?

1551 N. Wells Street, Chicago, in Old Town.

Who is the chef at Ela Chicago?

Executive Chef & Partner Daniel Garabajiu, who grew up in a family taverna on Lefkada, cooked at Principote in Mykonos, and worked in Chicago at Nisos, Andros Taverna, and Athena.

Who founded Ela Chicago?

Shaina Hurley founded Ela Modern Greek Taverna; ownership also includes Chris Lardakis, Aristotle Loumis, and Anthony Papagikos, with Garabajiu as chef-partner.

What kind of food does Ela Chicago serve?

Modern everyday Greek: gyros, grilled meats, salads and bowls, beef-tallow fries, Greek yogurt soft serve, sweets, and handcrafted coffee, with a no-seed-oil kitchen brief.

What are Ela Chicago's hours?

Seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with later weekend hours under consideration.

How many seats does Ela Chicago have?

About 70 indoor seats and 50 outdoor seats.

Where can I follow Ela Chicago for opening updates?

elataverna.com and Instagram @elagreek.