Viva La Rev, the restaurant group behind La Sirena, announced Bill Anderson to spearhead the beverage program at Chef John Manion’s upcoming concept El Che Bar, his spirited Argentine-American RestoBar set to open in Chicago’s West Loop this spring.
Anderson got his start behind the bar at Michelin-starred restaurant Sepia, where he worked as a bartender under Josh Pearson before moving on to work with Chicago veteran Chef Paul Virant as bar manager at his contemporary American restaurant Vie. While working at Vie for over three years, Anderson honed in on ingredient-driven cocktails and earned spots on Zagat’s 30 Under 30 and FSR Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list.
At El Che Bar, Anderson plans to embrace the open hearth and incorporate the elemental cooking exercised throughout the food menu into the cocktail list, utilizing smoke, fire, and ash to showcase each ingredient in a different light. Making sure the food and drink menu remain symbiotic with one another, Anderson will center on South American spirits such as mescal, cachaça, and pisco. The cocktail menu will be focused and concise, making it easy for guests to pick and choose their drink pertaining to their flavor preference.
