Global motorsports giant Formula One plans to bring its race-simulator restaurant and arcade concept to Chicago, striking a deal to take over a historic, two-level building in River North that formerly was home to Rock Bottom Brewery.
F1 Arcade has signed a lease to move into the property at Grand Avenue and State Street, according to people familiar with the situation.
The U.K.-based retail concept was created by Adam Breeden, co-founder of Puttshack, an indoor miniature-golf concept whose headquarters are just a few blocks from F1’s planned Chicago space in River North.
F1 Arcade was developed through licensing agreements with Formula One Group, which is owned by Liberty Media. It is a restaurant and bar featuring high-tech race simulators using full-motion technologies, providing players with a realistic-looking simulation of driving in an open-wheel auto race.
After opening two U.K. spaces starting in late 2022, F1 Arcade has signed U.S. deals in Boston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Denver, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Late last year, the company said it plans to open about 30 locations globally over the next five years.
F1 Arcade’s pending arrival in Chicago comes more than two years after the former brewery building was put up for sale. It hit the market just after Rock Bottom’s closure in January 2023 after more than two decades in business.
The building at 1 W. Grand Ave. is now being redeveloped by Chicago-based McCaffery Interests, which took out a $15.8 million loan from Rosemont, Illinois-based Signature Bank in April, according to Cook County property records.
It’s unclear from online property records whether McCaffery bought the property outright or whether McCaffery formed a joint venture with the longtime owners. One of those investors, Iowa-based David Carpenter, did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News. McCaffery Interests CEO Dan McCaffery declined to comment.
When the building was put up for sale in early 2023, it was marketed as a potential high-rise residential or hotel site, although the nearly century-old building’s “orange” status meant that, although it is not a Chicago landmark, a developer could face a lengthy and uncertain path toward knocking it down.
Instead, the building is being repurposed by the Chicago real estate firm behind local projects such as the redevelopment of the former Children’s Memorial Hospital site in Lincoln Park, the Niketown retail redevelopment on the Magnificent Mile and the Roosevelt Collection shopping center in the South Loop.
River North is known for restaurants, nightlife and hotels. The 1 W. Grand building is alongside a train station on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line, a short walk from the Magnificent Mile shopping district.
Chicago will host a NASCAR auto race on downtown streets for the third year in a row this summer about a mile from the planned F1 Arcade space, and in recent years there have been rumors of a Chicago Grand Prix involving Formula One drivers.
F1 Arcade is part of a growing retail sector often referred to as “eatertainment,” which combines food and cocktails with activities such as miniature golf, golf simulators, bowling, shuffleboard, pickleball and ping-pong.