GreenRiver is part of the Union Square Events Group owned by renowned US restaurateur Danny Myers, and is a collaboration with the Best Bar in the World team of Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon (The Dead Rabbit, BlackTail). We were commissioned to create an overarching direction and narrative for a new venture that also included naming, a full branding package and menu creation for both the main bar and Annex bar.

In 2016, GreenRiver was awarded its first Michelin Star.

Our concept draws inspiration from the Irish Americans who helped shape Chicago into the mighty metropolis it is today. 

After the Great Fire that razed the city in 1871, towering buildings quickly rose. Mighty industries flourished. Institutions were established. A city was reborn. And the Irish-American story was very much a part of that, running through it like a green river – a story of bankers, lawyers, industrialists, politicians, inventors – as well as scoundrels, rogues and reprobates. 

In the main GreenRiver bar we chose for the drinks team to explore raw ingredients with a literal link to the core spirit. In the Annex we take this to the next level, focusing on the raw ingredient groups that can influence all parts of the drinks – the syrups, tinctures, bitters, spirits, sodas and garnishes. 

The menu rotates three times per year and is based on the following themes: Roots, Spices, Berries, Dairy, Grains, Herbaceous, Floral, Umami, Pulses Greens and Seeds.

The cards are presented in a beautifully crafted oak box with an emblematic marquetry river inset. The 25 specimens are hand-produced by master furniture-makers in Ireland before shipment to Chicago. Into the main body of the box slide our 12 gilded edge cards. Simple and exquisite.

The GreenRiver Main bar menu section to follow W/C 9th January