RPM Italian Restaurant, 52 W. Illinois, was THE place to be for the opening night party on Saturday, February 18th. More than 500 friends, celebs and VIP's crowded into this new River North hotspot to congratulate the partners who included celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic, acclaimed Chef Doug Psaltis and restaurateurs RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman from Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Diners can expect an innovative menu created by Psaltis that includes a number of dishes inspired by Giuliana' s own mom, "Mama DePandi", who has become a well-known personality on the couple's hit Style Network show, "Giuliana & Bill."
The night was magical and everyone was dressed to impress in this sexy, modern and sophisticated space (formerly Ben Pao) designed by NY based Monolayer. 8,000' feet of space is set in tones of black, grey and white with lighting that makes everyone look beautiful. And if the appetizers offered on opening night are an indicator of what to expect from the menu, count me in! These charming owners have thought of every detail and were involved in every step of the planning process. Giuliana and Bill even worked behind the bar on this night much to the delight of their appreciative, by-invite-only guests.
The star studded crowd made your head swivel at every sighting. Seen on the scene were Coach Lovie Smith and his beautiful wife MaryAnne, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman and his wife Jackie, Windy City Live’s Val Warner, Ryan Chiaverini, Ji Suk Yi and Eric Himel, Sun-Time’s and Fox Chicago’s Bill Zwecker, Ronald McDonald Charities’ Doug Porter, Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper and Sarah Cooley, ABC’s Sylvia Perez, former Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias with Tara Flocco, fitness expert Shea Vaughn, Miss Illinois Ashley Hooks, The Mix’s Kathy Hart, Bears defensive tackle Matt Toeaina, Michigan Avenue Magazine’s Susanna Negovan with hubby Tom Negovan (Ch. 9 Newsman), Karen and Marvin Herman, Jan Jeffcoat, Sonya Jackson and Morris Wills, Tim and Mary Smithe, Jon and Andrew Landon, NBC 5’s Marion Brooks, Stefan Holt and Alicia Roman, Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano, Watch312’s President Bob and Kim Mills and Lindsay, Erica and Stevie Hoey, Paul Iacono, 24/7's Catie Keogh and Jeff Conway, designer Azeeza Khan, Lisa Frame, NBC's Marcus Riley, artist Jesus Salguiero, Justin Jacobson, Vincent Anzalone, Boka Group's Kevin Boehm, Andrea and Laura Schwartz, Amalie Drury and JC Steinbrunner among so many others.
R (Rancic) P (Psaltis) M (Melman) Italian......THE place to be! Opening in March! (Photos by Mila Samokhina!)
Filed under: Nightlife
Tags: Alexi Giannoulias, Amalie Drury, Andrea Schwartz, Ashley Hooks, Bill Rancic, Bill Zwecker, Bob Mills, Bob Sirott, Candid Candace Chicago, Catie Keogh, Charles Tillman, Chef Doug Psaltis, Chuck Jordan, Coach Lovie Smith, Doug Porter, Eric Himel, Erica Hoey, Giuliana Rancic, Jan Jeffcoat, JC Steinbrunner, Jeff Conway, Jerrod Melman, Jesus Salguiero, Ji Suk Yi, Karen Herman, Kathleen Henson, Kathy Hart, Kevin Boehm, Kim Mills, Landon twins, Laura Schwartz, Lindsay Hoey, Mama DePandi, Marcus Riley, Marianne Murciano, Marion Brooks, Marvin Herman, MaryAnne Smith, Matt Toeaina, Mila Samokhina, Molly Melman, Paul Iacono, Richard Roeper, RJ Melman, RPM Italian Restaurant, Ryan Chiaverini, Sarah Cooley, Shea Vaughn, Stevie Hoey, Susanna Negovan, Sylvia Perez, Tara Flocco, Val Warner, Vincent Anzalone, Watch312
Hi Candace,
It looked like a great evening, and I'm excited to have a new restaurant coming soon. Do you know if RPM Italian will offer any gluten free or allergen free dining options? LEYE always does a great job attending to the needs of customers with dietary restrictions. If RPM Italian is planning to do the same, I'd like to promote it to my blog readers as well.
Rachel (gladly gluten free)
I couldn't make it to the Opening as I was having my bellybutton de-linted that evening. And besides, who wants to go to chitown in February? Or April for that matter?
That Bill Rancic will do anything to be a relevant celebrity.
Watch that cutsie reality show the two of them have and you'll see how Bill makes all of the decisions.
He's flipped at least 2 houses and overran Giulianna on the decision of where to open the restaurant.