Signature Room at the 95th - Chicago - Food and Drink - Schofield Media - Chicago

With sweeping views of downtown Chicago, The Signature Room at the 95th has no trouble drawing guests. Located on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center, the upscale ambiance and contemporary American cuisine draw an almost even mix of visitors and locals – about 60 percent visitors and 40 percent locals, says Director of Marketing Angela Roman.

“A lot of local residents bring visitors and out-of-town guests to The Signature Room, so an average table will have a mix of the two,” she explains. “But the one thing that all of our customers are looking for is an experience. There is dramatic growth in the fast-casual restaurant sector, so a true, four-star dining experience is something our guests really appreciate.”

Roman notes that living up to customer expectations is an ongoing challenge, which is why a classic, innovative menu and exceptional customer service are top priorities to The Signature Room.

“Our menu is innovative, contemporary American cuisine – which we execute by pairing the familiar with the unexpected,” she explains. For example, The Signature Room’s roasted pork tenderloin – a classic American dish – is served with sweet-and-sour red cabbage, prosciutto and an apricot hops reduction. “It’s a new twist on an old favorite,” she adds.

The Signature Room also emphasizes local produce, and Executive Chef Patrick Sheerin works with local purveyors within a five-state region to support local farmers and growers. “The menu changes on a seasonal basis to include the freshest items,” Roman explains.

In addition to its top culinary selections, guests come to The Signature Room for its service. “Customer service reigns supreme,” Roman stresses. “You can teach anyone about food, but it’s a lot harder to teach someone how to relate to a guest.”

Fortunately, The Signature Room enjoys high retention rates. About 75 percent of its servers have been with the company since its 1993 inception.

“Our staff is great and is really proud to be working for us,” Roman says. “They know our guests, and they are the go-to people to gauge how our customers are reacting to a new menu item as well as overall guest satisfaction.”

Along with candle-lit dinners for two, The Signature Room can accommodate parties up to 20 people in the dining room, and host private events up to 1,000 people. Roman says private events make up about 30 percent of annual revenues, and the restaurant offers five private event rooms.

“We offer customized menus to our private parties, and do all of the planning in-house,” Roman explains. “We also host business meetings here, and, with our view, I think it’s really an inspirational place to brainstorm.”

This year, The Signature Room aims to reach out to the business community to host more lunches by offering new menu items and house accounts.

“We have a handful of faithful people who know about our lunch menu, but it is still under the radar,” Roman says. “About 75 percent of our lunchtime guests are tourists, and we’d like to increase the number of local people who join us during the day.”

Renewing a Legacy
The Signature Room opened its doors in 1970 – originally as the 95th Restaurant. Until 1993, it was operated by Aramark; however, the management team opted not to renew its lease.

Rick Roman, former general manager of The 95th Restaurant, formed a new hospitality management company, Infusion Management Group, and took over operations of The Signature Room at the 95th and The Signature Lounge at the 96th.

The Signature Room went on to earn industry accolades, including Restaurant of the Year in 1996 by Food and Beverage Equipment Executives magazine and one of “America’s Top Tables” by Gourmet magazine readers consecutively since 1997.

In 1999, Rick Roman received the Restaurateur of the Year award from the Illinois Restaurant Association. More recently, The Signature Room was awarded the 2003 “Business Impact of the Year Award” by The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, an award presented to the business with the most innovative ideas and contributions as a corporate citizen.

In addition to being voted The Most Romantic restaurant by AOL City Guide for the last six years, The Signature Room has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 1999.

“We have more than 250 wines on our list from every region around the world – from Croatia to Australia,” Roman says. “It’s very important to us to train our staff on our wines and proper pairing to help our guests make the right choice. And, we have more than 15 wines in our by-the-glass program.”

This year, along with expanding its business lunch program, The Signature Room aims to increase its sales over the last year. However, thanks to a brief stint operating multiple locations back in 2003, expansion isn’t in the company’s plans.

“We decided that operating multiple locations wasn’t for us,” Roman says. “We don’t want to be a corporate restaurant; we want to be The Signature Room at the 95th. We take a lot of pride in that fact that our location and the experience we provide just can’t be duplicated.”

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