Waterfront restaurant set to open in former BMO Harris Bank building in downtown St. Charles

By spring, a new waterfront restaurant is set to open in the former BMO Harris Bank building overlooking the Fox River in downtown St. Charles.

Noted Chicago chef Chris Curren will serve as executive chef/owner of The Graceful Ordinary, and his wife, Megan, will serve as the restaurant’s event sales manager. The couple live in the Fox River Valley.

Plans call for a full dining room in view of the open kitchen, main bar and lounge area, separate private dining room and a whimsical outdoor terrace exuding the ambiance of a chic soiree in New Orleans’ Garden District, according to a news release. The 4,700-square-foot restaurant will have seating for 120 guests indoors and an additional 110 customers outside.

“With so many people relocating to the area from the city in the past year in particular, Megan and I have always known there was incredible potential for this type of dining in St. Charles,” Chris Curren said in the release.

The project is currently in front of the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness for major alterations to the existing facade of the mid-century modern building.

The Graceful Ordinary will offer lunch and dinner service every day, along with weekend brunch. Curt Hurst recently purchased the former BMO Harris Bank building at 1 E. Main St. near the Fox River. Hurst and his son, Conrad, own Frontier Development, which has been involved in several projects in downtown St. Charles.

In 2019, Frontier Development purchased the Arcada building, which houses the Arcada Theatre and Club Arcada. The historic building first opened its doors in 1926, attracting such performers as George Burns and Gracie Allen.

Frontier Development also owns the building that houses Flagship on the Fox sports bar and Pollyanna Brewing Company in downtown St. Charles.

Other plans for the former BMO Harris Bank building include upscale rental units on the building’s second floor, Curt Hurst has said.