After

Duffy opened After after closing Grace — one of the most decorated restaurants in Chicago’s recent history — and built it with the same obsessive attention to detail applied to a different register entirely. The drinks are seasonal, boundary-testing, and grounded in classical technique. The space is deliberately futuristic-looking and refuses dress codes, VIP sections, and every other marker of exclusivity that Duffy could have deployed and chose not to.

Food & Wine named it one of the country’s top 15 bars in spring 2024, recognition that confirmed what Fulton Market regulars had noticed: this is not a chef’s vanity project but a genuinely good bar. The bartenders are as conversant in technique as the kitchen at Grace ever was, and the menu changes with enough frequency to reward repeat visits. The “come as you are” policy is not marketing — the room actually enforces it by example.