James Beard Award-winning chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark are moving ahead on their planned downtown Evanston restaurant, with a "Coming Soon" sign appearing July 20 at 1710 B Sherman Ave. in Bookman's Alley.

The husband-and-wife team, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes in 2019, told the Evanston RoundTable in January they plan to open an American-concept restaurant serving breakfast through dinner. The location, tucked into the pedestrian alley off Sherman Avenue, is pending city permitting, with the chefs estimating an opening by the end of 2026.

"It will be our version of an American restaurant, inspired by a Midwest sensibility of hospitality," Kim told the RoundTable in January when the couple first announced the project.

Kim and Clark currently operate two restaurants in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood: Parachute Hi-Fi, a bar centered on Korean-inspired food and high-fidelity music listening, and Anelya, a modern Ukrainian restaurant that opened in 2023. Their original restaurant, Parachute, held a Michelin star from 2014 to 2021.

Kim grew up in Downers Grove and attended Kendall College when it had its campus in Evanston. Clark grew up in Cincinnati, attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and spent eight years working in New York City restaurants. Clark told the RoundTable in April that the alley location appealed to him because it feels like a hidden pedestrian shortcut.

The Bookman's Alley space sits on the ground floor of a building at 1706-1710 Sherman Ave., previously home to the Varsity Theater. Steven Rogin purchased the building in 2004. Rogin and investor Steve Brown raised funding from about 15 Evanston-area investors to support the restaurant project, according to the RoundTable's April reporting.

Andy Vick, executive director of Downtown Evanston, said in April that a restaurant of Kim and Clark's caliber would be a significant addition to the business district. The couple walked the red carpet at the 2026 James Beard Awards at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago on June 15.

The restaurant's name has not been publicly confirmed. No permitting hearing date has been publicly scheduled.