Castaways on North Avenue Beach in Chicago set to reopen Memorial Day weekend

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

Castaways Beach Club, the popular boat-shaped restaurant and bar on North Avenue Beach, will again welcome customers with a fresher, cleaner look.

After closing last summer, the venue, formerly called Castaways Bar & Grill, is set to reopen Memorial Day Weekend, after renovations and changes to its menu. The restaurant, which opens seasonally for the summer, has been a Chicago lakefront destination for more than two decades.

“We’re excited that we're finally at a point where we'll be able to open this summer [with] a refreshed, new look to what we feel is the best place in Chicago in the summertime,” said Anthony Stefani, managing partner at the Stefani Restaurant Group, which operates the restaurant.

With the $3 million renovation, the restaurant's dining and bar areas have been redesigned, with patio space and cabanas available for rent and private events. Castaways Beach Club will offer private event options for groups of 25 to 500 and has started booking for the summer.

Courtesy of Castaways Beach Club

The boat had looked “beat up,” and was due for a repainting, Stefani said. Stefani, who has worked at Castaways since he was 14, said the restaurant used to have a “sports bar feel,” where customers walked up to the bar to order alcoholic drinks.

“For a long time, it was those bright red smokestacks with the bright blue everywhere,” Stefani said. “We modernized it. We made it more of a clean beach club-ish look.”

Now, the boat will have accents of nautical blue against a cream background, Stefani said. Owners are going for a “2024 look,” similar to what guests would find at a beach club in the Mediterranean or Miami.

Still, the restaurant wants to appeal to “multiple experiences,” from clubbers to families, Stefani said. The north end of the restaurant is geared to customers 21 and older, and the rest of the venue will offer a full-service dining experience.

“We wanted to make sure everybody felt comfortable coming up there and getting to enjoy that summertime Chicago feel,” Stefani said.

The company also revamped the menu to include dishes with global flavors, like fish tacos and hummus. Prices will likely be on par with restaurants in Lincoln Park, River North and the West Loop, Stefani said.

“We'll also have our handhelds, your typical burger, which will most likely still be the No. 1 seller,” Stefani said.

Renovations have been underway since last summer, and the furniture still needs to arrive, Stefani said. But the renovations should be completed in time for Memorial Day weekend.

“I would say maybe 80, 85% of the boat is completed. But we still have a good amount of work to do on the painting,” Stefani said.

Castaways is a tenant in the building, which is owned by Chicago Park District. Stefani says his company received approval for the renovations from the city, including the Chicago Department of Buildings and Chicago Park District.

“We’re all approved with everything that we're moving forward with,” Stefani said. “Now, it's just a race against time to make sure we're open within a few weeks.”