Guide to the trendiest things in the city with photographer John Stoffer
Billy Sunday, by the way, was a baseball player which, at the beginning of the 20th century, devoted itself to charge against alcohol and vices -to which the inhabitants of Chicago devoted themselves with relish despite the restrictions of Prohibition (? The Untouchables by Elliot Ness , anyone?) -. Sinatra already pointed it out when he said "On State Street they do things that they don't do on Broadway". And whoever wants to understand, let him understand.
Stoffer, a convinced Chicagoan, has inherited this past of excesses in the form of love of good whiskies, good coffee and good bars . His favorite is the **Allis Building, a five-story warehouse built in 1907** that is one of the best examples of industrial architecture in the Windy City (and it has quite a few; did you know that the first skyscrapers were built here ?)
The venue is part of the **Soho House, a club that is also a hotel**. The site opened recently, but it has that power of robust shops that makes us feel that its bar, its restaurants, its work rooms, its swimming pool, its cinema, its terrace and its boxing ring (yes, you read correctly) they have been there all their lives.
"The Allis is one of my favorite places to take photos. Both the food and the decorations are beautiful, with large windows that rise to the ceiling and, even when it's cloudy, they offer plenty of light to shoot with," says Stoffer.
But it also turns out that the place is the epitome of life , at least that of Instagram, of this photographer who team up with his wife portraying deliciously the hippest weddings and families in the country . "The Soho House are experts in create a cosmopolitan and attractive energy and atmosphere (...) The staff dresses as the guests dress, according to what you see in fashion magazines that season (...) All those who wander, indolent, through this building, sit on its velvet sofas, bathe in its pools and drink hot or cold tea at its raw wooden tables, They seem happy beings . It's legitimate that we want to be like them."
It was told by one of our colleagues talking about new hotels in town , and oh my, how right he was. Maura, the second wheel of the Stoffer Photography tandem and parent, along with John, of a catalog creature, would not detract from a Vogue cover with that carefree roll of "I've put on the first thing I've caught, but I have so much class that I'm better than you on New Year's Eve".
And she goes to the Allis a lot, of course. There her husband -dressed in similar clothes and attitude- he portrays her tenderly , and with a keen eye (let's not lose sight of the fact that we're talking about that kind of man who **could make art by throwing a couple of tools on the ground**) . "Most of my photos are related to my family, with food or architecture , so restaurants with interesting interiors end up being where I take a lot of my photos. The space needs to be endowed with natural light and not have a crowded background," says John.
In this way, such attractive places as Parson's Chicken and Fish appear in his snapshots, "which celebrates and enthusiastically embraces eating, drinking and, in general, having a good time" , or the ** Restoration and Hardware , the The most brutal furniture store with the most class and personality that you have ever seen in your life**. Of course, it has been erected respecting the original structure of a huge building from 1914 , and the curious thing is that she has done it on a street in a residential neighborhood along which cars do not pass . "If we build it, people will come," said the company's president at its opening.
However, this make fashionable neighborhoods that were not (which in some cases has become outright gentrification) is a constant in Chicago of late. The Allis, for example, is in the West Loop, an industrial area that is suddenly the epicenter of the new gastronomy of the city , and the ** Freehand ,** another hotel/hostel with a style that very, very few can boast of, has just landed in River North, a neighborhood in full regeneration (and, of course, it has been built on a building from 1927 of which even the main poster has been preserved).
what of the architecture , as you can see, is a strong bet in this city, and one that has deeply penetrated families like the Stoffers. Thus, in many snapshots they show his old studio, a loft by which many would allow themselves to be corrupted , and in others, his new house, of which we can see from the foundations... to some **interiors that are crying out for a few pages in the Architectural Digest **.
The thing is that the guy shows architectural culture and good taste : "Immersing myself in more mid-century modern design. Thanks to my mother for getting me these beautiful books for my birthday," one of her posts reads. And suddenly, we return to the Sinatra of the fifties, of the big hotels in Miami and the low houses with straight lines with palm trees and swimming pools behind the glass.
The Chicagoan also turns his gaze towards those mental postcards , which makes real from time to time: "The Chicago winter is hard to take; Southern California is the perfect destination , so we take every opportunity to get away!" she confesses. There she loves the ** Gjelina ** restaurant in Los Angeles, the ** Coffee and Tea Collective ** barista shop in San Diego, and for sleeping, the original **The Parker**, in Palm Springs.
However, at the end of the day, his city is that of the Wind, and that is where he would spend your ideal day by clicking . We are going to tell you, but, before doing it, he press play and enjoy the music he puts on to do it.
Prepared? Let's go there: "I would start by giving a p grooming around the michigan while the sun rises; just south of North Avenue Beach is my favorite view of the city from that lake. I'd head over to Allis for brunch. The 'Allis Breakfast' is my favourite: beautiful and delicious! Then I would walk to Wicker Park to shop on Milwaukee Ave. When I was done, I'd be ready for some tacos (and some Margaritas) at the Big Star Courtyard**; later, I would surely feel tired and need a coffee, so I would go to ** Caffe Streets in Division to drink the best cut of the city," he explains.
And he continues: "Once I had regained energy, I would set course for the trail 606 for a nice walk that starts in Bucktown and takes me to Logan Square, where there are lots of fun little boutiques of which you can go out and in. Arriving at the square, you could choose from dozens of options for dinner. My favorites are **Lula, Longman and Eagle, and Parson's Chicken and Fish.** Once dinner was over, **I'd go to Billy Sunday** for cocktails, to end the day," he concludes. Chicago, well, keep ringing to irreverence, and to that jazz that laughs at prudes . And it ends, like this, just as we began.
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