A liquor-license application for 4804 N Broadway is a new public sign of chef and owner Eric Roldan’s plans for Marina’s Supper Club, a Puerto Rican restaurant concept intended to bring food and live music to Uptown’s Broadway strip.
The application is for the address near W Lawrence Avenue and Broadway. WhatNow reported that Roldan plans to develop the site as a supper-club version of his existing restaurant, with Puerto Rican cuisine and live music. The space is under construction, according to the report. Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection says Chapter 4-60-040(e) of the Municipal Code requires public notice when a business applies for a City retailer’s license to sell alcoholic liquor. WhatNow reported the application.
How the License Review Works
The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection says written objections to liquor-license applications must be signed and received within 35 days of filing. The department’s license-application records provide the public information on applications.
From Ghost Kitchen to Uptown Destination
Marina’s began as Marina’s Cafe, an Avondale ghost kitchen, in 2021, according to the Chicago Tribune. In a 2023 report about the original Marina’s Bistro and Rum Bar at 4554 N. Magnolia Ave. in Uptown, Block Club Chicago quoted Roldan saying, “Doing the ghost kitchen opened the doors for me and gave me the experience that I needed” to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Roldan later opened that first brick-and-mortar location with help from a Chicago Recovery Fund grant he won in 2022, which allowed him to finish construction on the restaurant.
That restaurant built a following for dishes like tripleta sandwiches stacked with pork, ham, steak and plantain fries, along with pollo al ajillo, jibaritos, soups and salads, per WhatNow's reporting. The Tribune also notes the current spot serves classic and modern takes on dishes like mofongo and pastelillos alongside handcrafted rum-based cocktails. The planned supper club promises to push that concept further, with a refined dining menu, live music and a full bar built around rum cocktails, according to Block Club Chicago.
A New Neighbor for the Green Mill
The new location would put Marina's right next door to the Green Mill Lounge, occupying a space formerly home to Crew Bar & Grill, which ran on Broadway for 13 years before closing in 2017, according to Uptown Update. The same building at 4804 N. Broadway already houses Birrieria Zaragoza and Carmela's Taqueria, while Krispy Krunchy Chicken/Mamo's Burgers are nearby, meaning Marina's would be joining an existing cluster of dining spots rather than striking out alone. WhatNow separately notes the project sits close to those same businesses along with the Uptown Theater, with the Lawrence CTA Red Line stop a short walk east of the site.
Opening Timeline Still Unclear
Exactly when diners can expect to walk through the door remains an open question, with sources giving conflicting answers. WhatNow reports Roldan is planning on opening the new spot around February 2027, while Block Club Chicago has reported the supper club is slated to open later this summer at 4804 N. Broadway, and Uptown Update's earlier report pointed to an opening in late summer 2026. WhatNow notes it is still awaiting comment from Roldan on the opening logistics and timeline, so a firm date has not been confirmed by the restaurant itself.
Block Club Chicago's report also cites a news release from Roldan describing the venture as expected to be the first Puerto Rican supper club in the nation, a framing that underscores how far the concept has traveled from its ghost-kitchen roots. Whatever the exact timing, the project marks another step in turning a once-small Avondale delivery operation into a full-scale Uptown dining destination with rum, live music and a Puerto Rican menu at its center.
