‘Adapt or Die’: George Trois team bringing fast-casual Mexican to Winnetka’s Lincoln Avenue

Celebrated Winnetka chef Michael Lachowicz conceded that he’s “still learning,” but that won’t stop him from swinging away.

Lachowicz and partners Sergio Agnel and chef Miguel Escobar could not find footing with their last project, Fonda, a full-service Mexican restaurant in Evanston that closed in 2024 after about 15 months in business. Lachowicz called Fonda, on the business side of things, a mistake. So the trio is trying again, infusing lessons learned.

“We had to pivot,” Lachowicz said. “It became very evident the way of operating restaurants is not going to be what it was before.”

Fondita Miguel is essentially a scaled-back version of Fonda and will focus on Mexican street food in a fast-casual setting at 544 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka. Lachowicz and company hope the restaurant opens by December.

Lachowicz is also the proprietor behind Aboyer Brasserie, 64 Green Bay Road in Winnetka, a building that was recently purchased by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate. Hoffmann also owns the building where Fondita Miguel plans to open. The corner storefront on Lincoln Avenue is the former home of Lincoln Avenue Bakery and, before that, Bake Homemade pizza.

The space on Lincoln is in an active commercial district, featuring restaurants such as Hometown Coffee and Juice, Honeycomb Cafe, and Stacked and Folded, as well as a variety of shops, from jewelers to boutiques to a toy store. Lachowicz is excited to join the action, especially in Winnetka, a community he said has embraced the George Trois Group (the company behind Aboyer).

“The whole street is teeming with people and a lot of walking traffic,” he said. “… We wanted to be in an area that is densely populated and this is the space we’ve been looking for. It just took some time to find it.”

Fondita Miguel will feature tacos, tortas, burritos and more traditional Mexican fare, as well as grab-and-go meals ready to bring home and prepare for the family. Customers will order at the counter and take their meals to go or can grab a seat at one of few tables inside or out front.

Lachowicz said the restaurant may also sell hot chocolate and churros outside the storefront on the weekends, a tradition familiar to Agnel and Escobar. Lachowicz credited Escobar, who also creates food for Aboyer, in particular for his talents in developing the Fondita Miguel’s menu.

“Miguel’s food is so nuanced and balanced and so beautifully put together,” Lachowicz said. “That delicious quotient spans all ethnicities. Tasty is tasty, and he just has a very good palate.”

Lachowicz’s plan is for Fondita to be “really, really fun and accessible,” as well as affordable. The concept is by design a departure from his previous full-service restaurants, as the team is looking to meet modern diners where they are.

If all goes according to plan, Lachowicz hopes Fondita Miguel is a scalable concept that can be dropped in other communities.

“The idea here is proof of concept; we want to do a bunch of these,” he said. “It’s a clean footprint, not over complicated, well thought out, really delicious and really accessible, affordable and family-friendly.”

“I’m still learning. It’s a humbling realization to come to, but adapt or die,” he added.

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