Five years after opening as a 40-seat storefront in West Town, Provaré has grown into a swanky restaurant with an Italian-made pasta extruder churning out housemade noodles and a hidden basement speakeasy tucked behind a bookshelf door. The Creole-Italian restaurant at 1523 W. Chicago Ave. marked five years in the neighborhood this September, a milestone for a business that started with two friends and their personal savings rather than restaurant industry experience.
Chef and co-owner Jourdan Higgs, a self-taught cook from Oak Park, opened the original Provaré in 2021 alongside college friend and business partner Michael Williams, according to Resy. The name means “to try” in Italian, and the menu reflects Higgs' Sicilian background and interest in Southern cooking. That blend shows up across the menu, from a seafood trio of lobster, scallops, and shrimp over housemade pasta with Creole seasoning, to a Pasta Mardi Gras built with shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage.
From a 40-Seat Storefront to a Multi-State Brand
Higgs had never worked in a professional restaurant kitchen before opening Provaré, and he and Williams each put in $60,000 of their own savings to get the original location off the ground, according to Wednesday Journal. Higgs had spent years in corporate roles before the leap, including a stint at Chase Bank and 11 years at Verizon in customer service and employee training, the paper reports. He learned to cook from television cooking shows and began cooking while studying at Northern Illinois University, according to the same report.
That original 40-seat storefront was packed every night after a year, prompting the partners to find their current Chicago Avenue location, according to Appetito. The $120,000 self-funded launch eventually scaled into a multi-state operation, with Provaré opening a second location at 5102 Washington Avenue in Houston on May 30, 2025, according to the Houston Press. The Texas outpost serves Provaré's Chicago staples alongside Texas-exclusive items, the Houston Press notes.
Housemade Pasta and a Seafood-Heavy Menu
Provaré makes all of its pasta in house with an Italian-made extruder, a technical backbone for dishes like the shrimp scampi, tossed in a cognac cream sauce with Fresno chiles over mafaldine pasta, as detailed by Resy. The kitchen leans heavily into seafood, with a showpiece Royale Tower stacked with lobster tails, king crab legs, jumbo shrimp, fries, and seafood cream sauce rounding out the menu. The restaurant also serves steak frites and a vegan bolognese for non-seafood eaters.
The restaurant's blend of Creole and Italian cooking earned it a spot as a recommended dining destination in the official MICHELIN Guide Chicago. Higgs also brought national television exposure to the brand as a contestant in the first season of Fox's “Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars,” according to TVmaze.
A Bookshelf Door Leads to a Hidden Speakeasy
Provaré's most theatrical feature might be Privé, a basement speakeasy and intimate dining room accessed through a hidden bookshelf door, according to Resy. Privé offers Provaré house favorites and a full cocktail list, with DJs and live music once the doors swing open.
The speakeasy is open Thursday through Sunday evenings.
A Personal Dessert and Local Recognition
One of the menu's quieter highlights is a warm butter cake served with vanilla ice cream and fruit, a recipe that traces back to Higgs' mother, a professional pastry chef, according to Chicago Trend. It offers a sweet counterpoint to a menu built around heavily spiced Creole pastas, the outlet notes.
Higgs' path from corporate customer service to a Michelin-recognized kitchen has also earned him recognition closer to home. In February, Oak Park and River Forest High School, where Higgs graduated in 2004, honored him with its Tradition of Excellence award alongside singer Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards and historian Kate Masur, Wednesday Journal reported. Higgs addressed students at the ceremony about perseverance and self-reliance, according to the same report.
