Two years after the Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery on Higgins Road in Schaumburg closed, its former building is expected to reopen this summer as The Local Kitchen & Tap.
The forthcoming restaurant touts the use of local vendors in its dishes and drinks — including bakeries, farmers, brew houses and distilleries.
The Local’s extensive menu will include smoked & brined bone-in wings, Parmesan artichoke fritters, Hawaiian smoked BBQ pork sliders, a blackened mahi sandwich, lobster roll, apple dump cake, smokehouse benedict, and apple & goat cheese toast, among other items.
Preparations for the new restaurant at 1140 E. Higgins Road are underway, but representatives said the opening is estimated for August.
Schaumburg Community Development Director Julie Fitzgerald said the restaurant is making its way through the permit approval process, which includes plans for a refreshed facade and possible enhancements to the outdoor dining area.
Tilted Kilt announced its permanent closure in June 2020, about three months into the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Celtic-themed sports bar and restaurant that featured scantily clad female servers in plaid skirts had replaced a McCormick and Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant in 2011. Before that, Damon’s Grill had been the original tenant of the building, Fitzgerald said.
The arrival of Tilted Kilt was announced two months before its predecessor had closed in 2011.
Back in 2020, Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said the building was of a fairly standard size for a sit-down restaurant, making the economic environment of the time the main challenge in quickly finding a replacement for Tilted Kilt.