Attention North Shore foodies: Foxtail is coming to Glenview.
Having amassed a following at the original location in Downers Grove and an even bigger one at Foxtail on the Lake in Des Plaines, chef/owner Tim Canning’s latest venue, The Foxtail Glenview House, will open in 2025.
“I can’t tell you how many people have come to Foxtail on the Lake and told us they are so excited for the Glenview location,” Canning says. “We have many regulars from the North Shore that love our food and the experience in Des Plaines but wanted something like that closer to home.”
Wish granted: Canning and his business partner, David Villegas, have been working with the Village of Glenview and DSU Architects to renovate the historic Glenview House at 1843 Glenview Road—part of a mission to revitalize downtown.
The Build-Out
Glenview House, with its signature, red-hued brick and wooden black and gold sign, has had various inhabitants since 1878, including Glenview’s City Hall and taverns. Most recently, Canning’s brother operated a bar and restaurant out of the two-story space, but permanently closed in March 2023.
With experience renovating historic properties, Canning and Villegas will preserve the integrity of Glenview House’s façade. Inside, they will transform the roughly 7,000-square-foot space into a lively bar, main dining room and upstairs event space, totaling about 250 seats, in addition to a year-round patio.
“We are working with the Village of Glenview to build a double-decker patio with the louvred trellis that have fully-automated, retractable screens on the roof to allow the sun in when it’s warm and that can close if it’s raining,” says Villegas. “We love seeing our customers’ reactions when we’ve wowed them by repurposing really cool spaces.”
The Fox Food
Canning, a graduate of Kendall College who worked at Chicago Chef Stephen Chiappetti’s restaurants and spent nearly a decade working in Boston with acclaimed Chef Tony Maws, says the menu at The Foxtail Glenview House will be similar to those at his other properties. “We’re going to keep our core menu items and our signature raw bar —I like to describe our menu as Mediterranean with coastal influences.”
For culinary inspiration, Canning leans heavily on Foxtail Corporate Chef Maya Nahouli, a native of Lebanon who has worked in kitchens all over the world and in the U.S., owned a restaurant in Mississippi, ran her own food truck called Shawarma On the Go, and served as the executive chef of Bar Siena in Chicago prior to joining the Foxtail group.
At Foxtail, regulars seek out Nahouli’s housemade pita and flatbreads baked fresh daily in the restaurant’s hearth oven, along with her scratch-made hummus, labneh and muhamarra; spiced brick chicken; grilled octopus; famous beef shawarma, and fun appetizers like smoked Lebanese-style wings and ouzo-spiked saganaki with shrimp, charred shishito peppers and grilled crostini.
“Our guests love our taleggio flatbread with mushrooms, arugula and honey-truffle sauce,” she says. “We also have vegan dishes and I use a lot of vegetables, from greens to squash, zucchini, eggplant and harder-to-find vegetables and herbs like salsify and savory.”
Salads sell well, but so does The Fox Burger, a smash burger presented Lebanese-style with coleslaw and housemade garlic sauce. Nahouli’s also known for combining cuisines — her paella features a traditional saffron broth studded with some Middle Eastern spices and served over orzo instead of rice. The kid’s menu features grilled shrimp, flatbread, and housemade chicken fingers and mac n’ cheese.
Canning, who has family members living in Glenview, can’t wait for the opening. “I’m excited to bring amazing food to the area with really great service and hospitality,” he says. “We definitely don’t want to be a one-and-done place; we want to be somewhere you can go a few times a week and feel ecstatic every time you’re there. And then come back for Sunday brunch or happy hour or special occasions or with a group of friends. The Village of Glenview has been incredibly supportive of what we’re trying to do and we’re thrilled to soon join this community.”
"The Village of Glenview has been incredibly supportive of what we’re trying to do and we’re thrilled to soon join this community.” - The Foxtail Glenview House Owner Tim Canning