After sitting in zoning limbo for months, Junior Chefs Kitchen is finally poised to fire up its second Chicago studio in the West Loop this June, expanding the kids‑cooking operation beyond its Lincoln Park home base. The new studio will bring weekday classes, camps and birthday parties to the ground‑floor retail space at a major new apartment development.
City approvals dragged on longer than the owners anticipated. As reported by Chicago Business Journal, the opening was pushed back for months when the City Council’s zoning committee did not have a permanent chair in place. The same outlet also reports that Junior Chefs has signed a 10‑year lease for the West Loop studio, giving the growing business a long runway for its expansion.
Where the studio will be
The new kitchen classroom will take over a 2,200‑square‑foot ground‑floor retail space at Pizzuti’s Coppia development and will be built out with two classroom areas, according to a press release from The Pizzuti Companies. Pizzuti said the project’s retail lineup is designed to serve building residents along with families in the surrounding neighborhood. Junior Chefs lists the new studio’s address as 1061 W. Van Buren and marks the West Loop spot as “Coming June 2026” on its website, where the location now appears alongside Lincoln Park. Junior Chefs Kitchen
What they’ll teach
“I started Junior Chefs Kitchen with a passion to empower our youth with the essential life skills of cooking and nourishing not just their bodies but their futures,” owner Niki Cordell said in the developer’s announcement. The lineup at the West Loop studio is set to mirror the existing offerings, with weekly classes, semester memberships, day‑off camps and themed birthday parties all on the menu once doors open. Pizzuti’s announcement lays out Cordell’s comments and the planned program mix. Pizzuti
Why the West Loop
The expansion highlights how the West Loop has shifted from warehouse district to family‑friendly residential hub, where new apartment towers have turned ground‑floor retail into fertile ground for kid‑focused services and neighborhood conveniences, as noted in local development coverage. Chicago YIMBY and other real estate trackers have followed Coppia’s rise and the broader wave of housing projects reshaping the area. For operators like Junior Chefs, being close to renters and transit can help sustain after‑school classes and weekend camps.
When to expect classes
Junior Chefs’ website lists the West Loop studio as opening in June 2026 and currently shows registration only for summer camps and classes at the Lincoln Park location, with the same calendar expected to handle sign‑ups once the new site is active. Junior Chefs Kitchen also provides a phone number and email address for questions about birthday parties and memberships. The West Loop studio’s mix of weekday classes and camps is geared toward kids ages 2 through 18.
