Owners of the future Casa Catrina restaurant at Union Station in Joliet now plan to open by mid-February, with the reopening of a former microbrewery possibly coming sometime after that.

They were at a City Council meeting Monday seeking approval for a liquor license for the restaurant.

The council on Tuesday approved the liquor license.

Owners said after the meeting that an opening date is still in flux, but they hope to be open in February, if not sooner.

“Hopefully, we will be opening in the next month or the next month and a half,” Jorge Vazquez said.

The owners had eyed an early January opening two months ago when the council approved a lease for the city-owned space.

Permitting and licensing has taken longer than expected, Vazquez said.

But the restaurant is on its way, along with a plan to reopen the former microbrewery at Union Station, he said.

Casa Catrina will replace the MyGrain Brewery brewpub, which closed in August 2023. The owners of the new restaurant are negotiating a contract with the former MyGrain brewmaster to run the microbrewery.

“We’re in final negotiations with the brewmaster,” Vazquez said.

He noted that the restaurant may open ahead of the microbrewery, which requires an onset of permits.