Gingie Chicago Reopening: What Came Back to River North After the Kitchen Fire

Gingie Chicago reopened Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 707 N. Wells Street in River North. The room came back five months after a kitchen fire on Sunday evening, March 29, three days after its Thursday, March 26 debut.

That is the news. The rest of this piece is what actually came back versus the closure story Chicago already knows. Same address. Same chef-partner. À la carte hearth cooking, not a tasting menu. OpenTable is live. Hours are posted. A heritage half chicken is back on the list, with garnish language that does not match the late-summer press note. Two other dishes Boka announced as joining dinner were not on the homepage menu we checked August 30. What did not arrive with the reopening: a critic review, a Michelin mark, a Yelp sample large enough to mean anything, or a tasting menu that was never the concept.

What is Gingie Chicago?

Gingie Chicago is Boka Restaurant Group’s contemporary American restaurant in the former GT Prime space. Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz are the group. Brian Lockwood is chef-partner. The cooking is à la carte, seasonal, and built around live fire and an open hearth. There is no tasting menu.

The Chicago Tribune’s March 18 preview described French, Italian, and Japanese influences on that American frame. Boka’s own late-summer language, carried in Newcity’s August 24 culture notes, is more atmospheric: “Rooted in contemporary American cooking,” with nostalgia, and “unfamiliar flavors feel somehow familiar.” That is a press line, not a review. Treat it as the group describing the room they reopened, not as a verdict on the plates.

Gingie is a Boka brick-and-mortar that lost almost its entire first season to a grease-chute fire, then came back to the same Wells Street address. The interesting question is not whether people remember the fire. It is whether the hearth cooking that was supposed to define the room is actually on the table now that the door is open again.

That is a different product from the openings ChiVibe has already covered this week, including Berenjak Chicago at Soho House in Fulton Market and Hooligan Chicago in Logan Square. Those rooms are still waiting on a first service. Gingie has now had two.

When did Gingie Chicago reopen?

Saturday, August 29, 2026. That is the date Louisa Chu flagged in the Tribune on August 25, writing that the Lockwood–Boka collaboration, which “closed three days after opening due to a kitchen fire, will reopen in River North on Aug. 29.” Block Club Chicago reported the same window on August 26, from Boka’s release.

The first opening was Thursday, March 26, 2026. The fire was three nights later. The gap is about five months.

The official site currently greets diners with a happenings note: “After an unexpected pause, we’re incredibly grateful to welcome you back to Gingie. Join Chef Brian Lockwood and the team as we open a new chapter… Reservations are now live.” Ignore the leftover “Event heading insert here / Lorem ipsum” placeholder still sitting on that page. The welcome-back line is the live copy. The dummy heading is not an event.

A Saturday return after a five-month hole is a second opening, not a continuation of March. The first three days of service do not count as a season.

Why did Gingie close?

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, and a tower ladder at 162 W. Huron.

The restaurant’s own language was smaller. Instagram and the site called it a “minor kitchen fire,” said all guests and employees were safe, and said they would contact upcoming reservations. Those two versions can both be true. A grease chute can be a serious kitchen event and still leave every person unhurt. 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.

Where is Gingie Chicago?

707 N. Wells Street, Chicago, in River North. The space is the former GT Prime. The phone, as listed in the Tribune’s August 25 reopening note, is 312-600-6305.

Hours on the site, matching Block Club’s report: 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.

Wells Street here is restaurant River North, not the Merchandise Mart riverwalk a few blocks south. If you are mapping a night, you are in the Near North grid, not Fulton Market and not Logan Square.

Who is the chef at Gingie?

Brian Lockwood, chef-partner, with Boka Restaurant Group. This is his first brick-and-mortar after work as a consulting chef on FX/Hulu’s “The Bear.” That credit is biography. It is not a tasting-menu argument, and it is not why you book 707 N. Wells.

Press around the original opening put a 33-year career behind him, including time in Michelin-starred kitchens. That experience stays on the résumé. It does not transfer to Gingie as a Chicago Michelin mark. Gingie has none.

The partnership to watch is Lockwood with Boehm and Katz, not a television kitchen. Boka already knows how to open and reopen rooms in this city. The fire made this one a longer first year than anyone wanted.

What is on the Gingie Chicago menu?

À la carte. Seasonal. Live fire. The current dishes listed on gingiechicago.com as of August 30, 2026, with prices as posted:

• Mushroom-Sweetbread Cornets, $21, black truffle bavarois
• Embered Oysters, market price, garlic, ginger, lime
• Black Pepper Tofu Rice, $25, ginger, shallot, mushroom
• Squid Ink Chitarra, $27, clam, mussel, hot pepper, lemon
• Grilled Heritage Half chicken, $46, sansho pepper, yuzu yogurt, daikon, shiso
• Ribeye, $59, hyssop, lettuce, ginger-onion
• Honey Meringue, $16, milk ice cream, sesame
• Gingie Sundae for two, $20, coffee cremeux, hot fudge, toffee, hazelnut
• Chocolate Tart, $16, salted caramel, brown butter, chantilly cream

That is the homepage list. It is not a claim that the printed dinner card is identical every night.

The heritage chicken is the plate to read carefully. Boka’s late-summer note, via Newcity on August 24, 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 two dishes were joining late-summer dinner: tortelloni with Délice de Bourgogne, corn, and black truffle; and a lobster-stuffed tomato with Calabrian chili and summer blossoms. 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 enough 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 not a tasting-menu room. It is a Boka à la carte dinner with hearth heat and a dessert list that wants you to stay.

How do Gingie Chicago reservations work?

OpenTable is live at opentable.com/r/gingie-chicago. There is no Resy listing and no Tock listing. Book there, or call 312-600-6305.

Hours again: Sunday through Thursday 5–10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5–10:30 p.m.

OpenTable being live is not the same thing as the room being proven. A diner score on a tiny sample is not a review. Yelp’s Gingie page is equally thin as of August 30. Do not use either as a reason to go or to skip. Use the menu, the hours, and whether River North on a weeknight is the night you want.

Instagram is instagram.com/gingiechicago. The official site is gingiechicago.com. ChiVibe is not taking names and is not emailing the restaurant for you.

Does Gingie Chicago have a Michelin star?

No. Gingie’s Chicago Michelin status is none. It has not been awarded a star, a Bib Gourmand, or any other Michelin designation in this city.

Lockwood’s earlier work in Michelin-starred kitchens does not move with him. Neither does a television consulting credit. Stars attach to a restaurant, in a city, in a guide year. Gingie reopened August 29. The first three days of service in March do not count as a season.

What actually came back after the fire?

What came back: 707 N. Wells. Brian Lockwood as chef-partner. Boka as the group. Contemporary American à la carte, live fire, no tasting menu. Posted dinner hours. OpenTable. A heritage half chicken on the list. A homepage of cornets, embered oysters, tofu rice, squid-ink chitarra, ribeye, and three desserts. Boka’s late-summer announcement of tortelloni and a lobster-stuffed tomato, even if those two are not on the homepage. A public thank-you to CFD and the neighborhood.

Kevin Boehm, in the Boka release quoted by Block Club on August 26: “Rob, Brian and I extend our sincerest gratitude to the Chicago Fire Department, our neighbors and our community all across Chicago for the tremendous outpouring of love and support over these past months. We could not be more excited for Gingie’s newest chapter and to reopen our doors in the greatest city in the world.”

What did not magically appear: a critic’s review of the reopened room. A Michelin mark. A Yelp or OpenTable sample large enough to trust. A tasting menu. A new address. A different chef.

The closure story was dramatic because it was three days into a debut. The reopening story is quieter, which is the point. The question for a diner this week is simpler than the fire: is the hearth cooking on the card, can you book it, and is River North the neighborhood you want on a Sunday-to-Thursday 5-to-10 clock? Yes, yes, and that is a real choice. The rest is waiting for someone to eat there long enough to write about the food instead of the grease chute.

Gingie Chicago FAQ

When did Gingie Chicago reopen? Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 707 N. Wells Street.

Why did Gingie close? A kitchen fire on Sunday evening, March 29, 2026, three days after the March 26 opening. CBS Chicago reported a grease-chute fire and no injuries.

Where is Gingie Chicago? 707 N. Wells Street, River North, in the former GT Prime space. Phone 312-600-6305.

Who is the chef? Brian Lockwood, chef-partner with Boka Restaurant Group (Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz).

What kind of food is Gingie? Contemporary American, à la carte, seasonal, live-fire and open-hearth, with French, Italian, and Japanese influences noted in the Tribune’s March preview. No tasting menu.

How do I make a reservation at Gingie Chicago? OpenTable is live. There is no Resy or Tock page. Hours are 5–10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5–10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Does Gingie Chicago have a Michelin star? No.

Is the heritage chicken on the menu? Yes. The site lists a grilled heritage half chicken at $46 with sansho pepper, yuzu yogurt, daikon, and shiso. Boka’s late-summer press note said the chicken returns and mentioned pickled daikon. Those wordings are not identical.

Last verified against the linked official and reported sources: August 30, 2026.

Sources

• Gingie Chicago (official site, menu and hours checked August 30, 2026)
• Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2026
• Louisa Chu, Chicago Tribune, August 25, 2026
• Block Club Chicago, August 26, 2026
• Newcity, August 24, 2026
• CBS Chicago
• OpenTable: Gingie Chicago

Gingie Chicago is open again. Book OpenTable if you want the hearth room this week. Do not wait for a star that is not coming with the keys, and do not treat a one-review Yelp page as a verdict.

Related on ChiVibe: Berenjak Chicago at Soho House in Fulton Market, Hooligan Chicago in Logan Square, and more in our Dining section.