After little more than a decade as head chef at Hotel Allegro’s 312 Chicago, Dean Zanella is leaving. "Maybe it’s claustrophobia, maybe it’s working in the same four walls for 11 years but, yeah, it’s just time for me to move on," Zanella told me. "It’s funny because when I was working through this I was calling Randy [Zweiban] and he was at a decade when he left Nacional [27] to open Province, so I don’t know, maybe it’s just that ten-year itch."

Zanella will finish out the year with 312, but then he’s on to his own place, which he says will be "more casual with more of a neighborhood feel." Citing a change in the industry as his inspiration, Zanella says "That’s the way it’s going if you look at the really hot spots: Urban Belly, Smoque, everybody is going downscale."

For now he’s mum on the name ("I’m really torn between about four options") as well as location (though he did drop the ‘hoods Logan Square, Uptown and Lincoln Park into the conversation). As far as how he’ll be able to do artisan, regional Italian on a budget, don’t expect to see filet and pricy seafood but instead look for a lunch lineup of panini and simple pastas and a dinner menu centered around Zanella’s penchant for using whole animals.