As a longtime partner in Gibsons, Chicago’s premier destination for steak, Gregg Horan has deep steakhouse experience. A little over a year ago, he took that expertise to the ‘burbs, opening The Greggory in South Barrington, Illinois, a market outside Chicago with a customer base hungry for a high-end steakhouse.
On weekends, The Greggory is getting the people who used to drive downtown for dinner. They’re coming for an evolved menu that not only offers prime steaks and seafood, but also fresh-made pastas, wood-fired shellfish towers, prime rib and chicken cooked on the rotisserie over an open hearth, and Mediterranean specialties. While guests can shell out big bucks for Wagyu beef, they can also have a pasta and couple of sides, or bites at the bar with a cocktail, and come out spending $30 or $40.
“We're not looking to kill people with check average every time they walk in,” Horan said. “In order to be busy Tuesday and Wednesday, you have to offer a lot of options.” The Greggory is also gaining a reputation for its very fairly priced wine list and signature house breads.
Listen as Gregg shares how he and his chef have created a menu that’s drawing regulars, how they’re dealing with high beef costs, and where he’s looking to open a second location of The Greggory.
Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.