Legendary American gymnast Simone Biles is excited to spend more time in Chicago eating hot dogs and pizza. Biles, hailed as the greatest gymnast in U.S. history, is a big supporter of her husband, NFL star Jonathan Owens. On Tuesday, Owens announced he was leaving the Green Bay Packers to join the Chicago Bears.
In sharing her husband’s news, Biles gushed about Chicago. That led Bears fans to suggest how Biles could best enjoy her time. One suggested that she needed to adopt the White Sox instead of the Cubs (she has already met White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas). Of course, food recommendations soon followed. Lou Malnati’s, which is never shy about headlines, jumped in. Portillo’s also was there as the social media strategists wanted a piece.
There were the obligatory Chicago Superfan GIFs from SNL with the boys sitting in front of a big pile of meat. Harold’s Chicken was also mentioned. These are all spots featured in the Eater Chicago 38. But to be honest, there are so many restaurant owners excited to host athletes, most meals come via plucky restaurant reps who are connected to the sports world and willing to give out free food.
Now that the Bears aren’t going to be in Arlington Heights — home of mighty Mitsuwa and its own location of Johnnie’s Beef — Biles and Owens can get acclimated to some Chicago cuisine. The city’s food is about more than pizza and beef. All around, Chicago is a gold medal threat.
Sluggers strikes out
Over in Wrigleyville, locals are losing their minds after Sluggers has swapped street signs on Clark Street. The bar, a favorite just south of Wrigley Field, is known for its crowded dance floor and second level once full of video games and batting cages. But time marches on. The old vertical sign was green and yellow. The new vertical sign looks like a bat — or something else — with woodgrain. There’s a typo in there, as pointed out by several on the site formerly known as Twitter.
The mayor chimes in on Jewel-Mariano’s
Finally, two weeks after the FTC announced its intention to block the deal that would merge grocery store chains Jewel and Mariano’s, Mayor Brandon Johnson has chimed in with his opposition. Block Club Chicago tracked down a statement in which the mayor’s camp objected to a “potentially negative impact” on existing grocery stores in Chicago. That hopscotch of statement, with “potentially” doing a lot of work, aside — the bigger news is reps from Kroger and Albertsons declaring that new stores would be closed if the merger goes through — it’s time to buckle up for some hearings.
Wrigley Field
, Chicago, IL 60613