Jorge Garza Norrick

Peter Balodimas, a chef with résumé lines for Quince at the Homestead, Spiaggia, Tin Fish, and as the corporate chef of the Rosebud group, also owned the meteoric Fahrenheit, a high-technique restaurant in St. Charles that made Chicago’s list of Best New Restaurants in 2008 but closed before the issue left newsstands. Happily, he’s returning to chef/ownership, at Domestic (445 N. Dearborn St., no phone yet), scheduled to open in August.

A short chain of Rosebud dominoes falling led to Domestic’s creation. Rosebud’s Bar Umbriago was heading for a renovation that would better reflect the chain’s successful Italian formula. The nearby Rosebud Trattoria, the now-closed previous occupant of Domestic’s corner, then seemed too similar and too close geographically. “I proposed taking over the space and doing the concept that has been near and dear to my heart,” Balodimas says.

He and a partner took over the old Rosebud, and after some cosmetic changes, he plans to launch a farm-focused—but not necessarily local—menu of artisanal American food. For example, a charcuterie platter might zero in on one particular animal, with duck galantine, duck prosciutto, and duck foie gras pastrami. “I want to focus on each individual identity and show what each animal can offer,” Balodimas says.

Craft beer and bourbon will drive the drink menu. Guess that probably scotches any chance of wines in a “Domestic flight.”