Theaster Gates and entrepreneur Heiji Choy Black are turning the Stony Island Arts Bank on Chicago’s South Side into a hospitality double feature, with Han Cha, a Korean-inspired high-tea salon, paired with Yunomi, a companion cocktail lounge. Han Cha will offer a slow, two-hour tea service with a prix-fixe menu, while Yunomi focuses on cocktails built around local spirits and beer. The openings land just as the neighborhood braces for a major influx of visitors later this month. Gates and Choy Black are equal partners in the venture, and Choy Black will oversee hospitality and programming throughout the Arts Bank.
According to WBEZ, Han Cha is scheduled to open on June 5, with Yunomi joining the Arts Bank’s renewed public program shortly after. The timing lines up neatly with the Obama Presidential Center’s grand-opening celebrations. The Obama Foundation says the campus will open to the public on June 19.
Inside the Arts Bank
The Stony Island Arts Bank, the restored former bank that now houses the Johnson Publishing Company library and archive, will host both Han Cha and Yunomi, according to the Rebuild Foundation. The building has served for years as a platform for Gates’ archival work and public programs, and the new food-and-drink projects are meant to make the Arts Bank a more constant presence on 67th Street.
What to Expect at Han Cha
The tea salon will center on a carefully choreographed two-hour tasting priced at $75 per person, featuring teas from Spirit Tea alongside pastries and savory bites by former Momotaro pastry chef Jessica Vasquez and collaborator Marguerite Singson, WBEZ reports. Choy Black describes the menu as a spin on English high tea filtered through East Asian flavors, with items like black sesame cookies and ginger-miso tea cakes. The format is intentionally paced to encourage guests to stay present and talk to each other instead of hunching over laptops.
Yunomi: A Cocktail Counterpoint
Next door, Yunomi, named for a style of Japanese teacup, will offer cocktails built around spirits connected to local makers and will pour beer from Half Acre, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Choy Black has invested equally with Gates and will serve as the Arts Bank’s creative director and operator, overseeing hospitality, merchandise, and programming throughout the building. Yunomi is designed as a more casual, drop-in option to complement Han Cha’s structured service.
Part of a Longer South Side Plan
Gates has spent nearly two decades building out a network of cultural venues on the South Side, and recent projects such as the Land School extend that footprint, according to his project page. Introducing hospitality into an archive-driven space is a deliberate move to broaden how neighbors and visitors experience both the Arts Bank and the surrounding corridor.
Practical Details and Visiting
The Arts Bank’s public hours tied to the hospitality program will run Thursday through Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., with multiple tea-service seatings and a ticketed reservation system that suggests a $10 donation, half of which will support Rebuild Foundation programming, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Han Cha’s prix-fixe seatings will require reservations, while Yunomi will provide counter service for walk-ins and reservations as available. The Arts Bank’s official channels will share booking links and launch-day details.
Opening just days before the Obama Presidential Center welcomes the public, Han Cha and Yunomi give both visitors and neighbors another reason to linger on 67th Street, offering a local-first counterpoint to the large-scale moment unfolding in Jackson Park. Coverage will be updated as reservation links and booking windows go live.
