Michael Jordan's Steak House is celebrating 15 years on Michigan Avenue, marking the milestone with a $15 anniversary menu that includes some of its greatest hits: the Banana Old Fashioned, garlic bread, a mixed greens salad, and Cheez-It Mac and Cheese. Culinary Director Craig Couper has been in the kitchen for essentially the entire run, and he sat down to talk about what has kept the restaurant going for a decade and a half.
The steakhouse opened inside the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile on August 23, 2011, taking over the space previously occupied by the hotel's restaurant Zest, according to CBS News. That opening marked Jordan's return to the Chicago dining scene, 12 years after his original tourist-oriented restaurant on LaSalle Street had shut its doors. Couper joined ABC7 Chicago to discuss the anniversary and what has kept the concept relevant on Michigan Avenue for 15 years.
From LaSalle Street Sports Bar to Magnificent Mile Fine Dining
Jordan's Michigan Avenue venue is actually his second major restaurant concept in Chicago. The original Michael Jordan's Restaurant at 500 N. LaSalle Street operated during the Bulls' 1990s championship run before closing in 1999, per CBS News. Rather than repeat that high-volume, tourist-attraction model, the Magnificent Mile location pivoted toward upscale steakhouse dining, a shift that appears to have paid off given its now 15-year run.
The current restaurant spans 7,000 square feet across two levels of the InterContinental, with a 160-seat main dining room on the second floor, a ground-floor lobby bar seating up to 90, and private event space for as many as 275 guests, according to Travel Agent Central. That footprint underwent major renovations before the 2011 launch, giving the space room for both intimate dinners and larger private events under one roof.
Jersey Number 23 Woven Into the Menu
Jordan's basketball legacy shows up throughout the menu and design, not just in framed jerseys on the wall. Signature offerings include a 23-layer chocolate cake, a 23-ingredient chopped salad, and a 23-ounce bone-in prime ribeye, as detailed by Time Out. Those numerical nods extend across both portioning and interior touches, giving longtime diners a wink to Jordan's playing days even as the restaurant has moved well past its athlete-owned novelty phase.
On the beef side, the restaurant has partnered with local Chicago purveyor Meats by Linz since it opened in 2011, supplying a custom-portioned 16-ounce, 45-day dry-aged Prime Delmonico ribeye. Per Meats by Linz, the beef is dry-aged specifically to Jordan's preferred specifications, a supply-chain relationship that has stayed intact for the entirety of the restaurant's run.
Leadership and Licensing Behind the Brand
Couper has been with the restaurant nearly as long as it has existed. He originally joined as Executive Sous Chef for the 2011 launch before being promoted to Executive Chef in late 2014, according to Shared Experiences, and now holds the title of Culinary Director overseeing kitchen operations. That continuity in leadership is part of why the restaurant sat him down for the anniversary interview with ABC7 in the first place.
The Michigan Avenue location is operated by Chicago-based Cornerstone Restaurant Group under a trademark licensing arrangement with Jordan's company, Jump Higher LLC, and hotel owner Strategic Hotels & Resorts, per CBS News. Cornerstone has since expanded the Michael Jordan's Steak House brand beyond Chicago to casino resorts in Connecticut, Washington state, and South Korea, according to Cornerstone Restaurant Group, making the Michigan Avenue flagship the launchpad for a wider international portfolio.
Competing in Chicago's Steakhouse Market
Fifteen years is a long time to hold ground in Chicago's fine-dining scene, which remains one of the largest independent steakhouse markets in the country. Rival legacy steakhouse Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse generated upwards of $30.9 million in sales at its flagship Rush Street venue in 2025, according to prior Hoodline reporting, underscoring just how competitive the city's steakhouse landscape has become.
Against that backdrop, Michael Jordan's Steak House has leaned on its blend of celebrity branding, local sourcing, and steady kitchen leadership to keep drawing both Chicagoans and visitors along Michigan Avenue. The $15 anniversary menu, running through the milestone celebration, gives longtime fans and first-time diners alike a low-cost way to sample the restaurant's greatest hits fifteen years after it first opened its doors.
