Artisan baker and restaurateur Rich Labriola launched Labriola Italian Specialties at 852 W. Fulton Market on April 22, joining other Labriola outlets started in 1993 on Michigan Avenue, as well as in Oakbrook and Oak Park. Labriola is also responsible for helping to bring Stan’s Donuts from Los Angeles to various Chicagoland locations starting in 2014.
The Heidi Lightner-designed space is a warm, intimate room with a tiled open kitchen facing the heart of the Fulton Market restaurant row, with seating for over 100 guests at booths, banquettes, and the bar, along with an outdoor patio. The new venture will feature deluxe pizzas and slices, pasta and bread made from scratch, and sweet treats like Sicilian cannoli with sheep's milk ricotta, all served from a walk-up window.
The antipasto spread includes vibrant prosciutto, salami, mortadella, and capicola, as well as a classic jumbo (huge, even) shrimp cocktail with piquant red sauce. The mozzarella in the sauce is hearty but not overbearing. Creamy pecorino cheese butter is a robust and tangy highlight to the fresh bread offerings, such as pane di Altamura with sesame seeds.
The thin-crust pizza slices are light and flavorful, notably the sausage and basil combination. Other non-traditional offerings include a Wagyu beef slider on an always-welcome pretzel bun. Predictably, the dessert offerings are delightful, including a delicate hazelnut chocolate cake, spumoni, and rich, rolled tiramisu, sometimes called the “Italian Twinkie.”
The curated cocktail menu includes the Amarena (bourbon, amaro, cherry vanilla syrup), the Dolce Vita (vodka, blood orange liqueur, watermelon, almond), the Vespa (gin, lavender honey, lemon), the Espressotini (vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso turbinado syrup), and the Italicus Spritz (gin, bergamot, prosecco), a complex yet refreshing mixture to quaff beforehand or with the meal.
Chicago Rum Festival
For those craving rum, whether in daiquiris, mojitos, mai tais, or more, the 10th Annual Chicago Rum Festival shared sips at the Logan Square Auditorium on April 25, the tentpole of Rhum Week. Over 40 award-winning premium rum distributors from around the Americas, the Philippines, and more shared their wares and methods, along with a grand tasting event and “Daiquiri Mania” cocktail session. A lone cigar stand featuring Cohibas anchored the rows of longtime rum producers from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Panama, Martinique, Haiti, Guyana, and Peru (and the vendor, Star Union Spirits, is based in Peru, Illinois).
Chicago’s own creation, Cohasset Punch, also had a booth, featuring the historic 1890s, ruby-red, rum-based liqueur, a staple of Gilded Age nightlife with notes of cherry, citrus, and stone fruit. From vendor to vendor, the rums varied wildly from sweet to smoky tastes, proofs from 15 to over 100, to disparate aging techniques, including using different woods, preparations, and time in the barrel, from days to decades. Real Infused Exotics offered puree-infused drink-mixer fruit syrups, including a refreshing watermelon/ginger blend.
Attendees were from a welcome mix of backgrounds, but the Barbados rum table reminded me of the colonial cruelty inherent in sugar cane harvesting, a staple in rum recipes. Andrea Stuart’s excellent memoir Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire details the intersection of the Caribbean slave trade, colonialism, and sugar cane for rum and more. Many purveyors indicated that the industry is moving towards better worker compensation and green initiatives, with some folks saying their products are now carbon-neutral or even negative.
Educational seminars included “Drink Less, Drink Better,” celebrating intentional imbibement and the art of the slow pour; “From Sea Depth to Sweet Finish: Maturation & Pairing in Cayman Islands Rum,” reviewing barrel types and cheese pairings; “Costa Rica Single Estate Rum: Combining pure juice, molasses & sugar cane honey” and how those elements build complexity, balance and identity, including a deep dive into terroir, technique, and assemblage; “Making Historical Rum for the Modern Era,” sharing how Black Tot and Planteray Rum have disclosed distilling secrets to compare legacy blends against modern creations; “Introduction to the Philippines and Tanduay Rum,” introducing one of Asia’s largest producers founded in 1854; and “Boom, Bust and Rebirth: Cycles in Rum,” discussing pricing, bottle sizes and evolving cocktail culture.
Labriola Italian Specialties, 852 W. Fulton Market, is open Sundays through Thursdays 4 to 11 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays 4 p.m. to midnight. Labriola Oak Brook offers a prix fixe Mother’s Day brunch buffet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at $59.95 for adults and $24.95 for kids.
Several Rum Fest vendors encourage Chicagoans to attend the Colombian Fest Chicago 2026, running July 17 to 19 in Humboldt Park. The Rum Lab also offers a rum guide on where to drink and buy rum in Chicago in order to spoil your rum-loving mom on her special day, May 10, 2026. Yo ho ho and a bottle for mum!
This coverage was made possible by a promotional invitation. Our opinions and editorial choices remain entirely our own.
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