The right location and $750,000 City incentive helps attract celebrated restaurateur to Highland Park

Highland Park’s blossoming dining scene is continuing to sizzle as one of the city’s native daughters is preparing to open the second location of her well-done steakhouse in town.

Noted local restaurateur Amy Morton is returning to Highland Park to open The Barn Steakhouse 2 at 1900 First St. in the space that previously housed Little Szechwan.

Highland Park’s City Council during its Monday, Jan. 13 meeting unanimously approved an economic incentive agreement with the restaurant and its parent company that will provide up to $750,000 of grant funds for the project.

Morton opened the original Barn Steakhouse in downtown Evanston nine years ago. The native Highland Parker had been searching for a space to expand the restaurant since before the COVID-19 pandemic, she told councilmembers during the meeting.

“We never want to get emotional about business, but I found a location that I really love,” Morton said.

The Highland Park location will feature dining for approximately 75 people, Morton said, adding that the restaurant will also include a private dining area.

Project plans call for the existing front door to be moved to the side of the building, creating an “alley-side entrance,” per Morton, who noted that it’s a unique trait that will add to the character of the restaurant.

“The idea is not to copy-cat what I have already done in Evanston but to draw on the important elements that make it live,” Morton said. “And that is why I have taken such a long time to find the right space.”

The targeted opening date as of right now is in early September, per Morton.

According to city documents, the estimated total cost for the project is $2.27 million. The economic incentive approved by the council is direct funding toward those costs and does not include a loan component, per information from the city.

The grant funding is a part of Highland Park’s Boutique Incentive program, which was first conceptualized in the summer of 2023 as a way to draw “experienced, sought-after restaurant groups” to the city.

As previously reported by The Record, city officials in 2024 approved an agreement with Ballyhoo Hospitality — a powerhouse restaurant group that has recently opened some of the North Shore’s most acclaimed dining establishments — to open DeNucci’s Italian in downtown Highland Park. The city provided $1.5 million in funding toward DeNucci’s development.

Several local towns have also recently installed similar incentive programs to bring in well-known restaurant brands. Nearby Glenview also approved an agreement with Ballyhoo, and both Glenview and Northbrook awarded funds to Hometown Coffee and Juice to open locations in their villages.

Morton brings with her more than three decades of experience in the restaurant industry. She opened her flagship restaurant, Found Kitchen and Social House, in Evanston in 2012. Morton also opened LeTour Brasserie, a contemporary French-Moroccan restaurant in 2022 in Evanston.

Amy Morton is the daughter of famed Chicago restaurateur Arnie Morton. In a message on The Barn Steakhouse’s website, she says the restaurant is a homage to her father.

Bringing The Barn Steakhouse to Highland Park is an opportunity that Amy Morton feels “really lucky” to have.

“I just find it uncanny that after looking for so long for a location that it wound up being in Highland Park,” she said, later adding, “I don’t believe in coincidences; I believe that we create our future and the now and I want to make this a real cornerstone for the community here and I think it will be and I’m really excited.”

Councilmembers lauded the pending addition to the city’s growing restaurant scene.

“This is part of the big dream and vision that we have for Highland Park,” Councilmember Annette Lidawer said. “That vision is to really rejuvenate and reinvigorate so many spaces and so many places for people to come and congregate and to draw on others from outside of Highland Park.”

Councilmember Anthony Blumberg said he appreciated seeing Morton bring her latest endeavor to Highland Park.

“I love the message that this sends about Highland Park and about you,” Blumberg said.

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