Opening

Schoolyard Tavern & Grill (3258 N. Southport Ave., Lake View) has been around since 1994, but now it boasts an entirely different look under new management. In June, former owners Four Corners sold the bar to the team behind Links Taproom. It’s remodeled the interior as well as redesigned the menu and cocktail program. In addition to a huge menu of craft beers, the bar will now serve some Links favorites such as cheese curds and the Chicago Steak & Ale sausage.

Morsels

Aloha Poke Company has spent the last few days mired in controversy. The company owns a trademark on the term “Aloha Poke” to prevent other poke chains from using its name, which caused native Hawaiians to call for a boycott of the chain and demand an apology. Aloha Poke has since apologized, but Eater reports that at least one Hawaiian-owned business in Alaska had to change its name in response to a cease- and-desist letter it received from the Chicago-based chain—a rebranding that was both complex and costly.

Ownership shuffles have rocked Rockit Ranch Productions, the restaurant group famously associated with the glamorous Billy Dec. Dec no longer has any share in the group’s River North burger joint, Rockit Bar and Grill (22 W. Hubbard St.) and has bought out Sunda (110 W. Illinois St., River North) from his partner, Brad Young.

Want to learn more about some great food on the South Side? Fooditor, the Chicago-based site that covers all things worth eating in Chicago, is hosting a South Side Food-I-Tour on August 25 (an August 18 tour has already sold out). The journey by bus will cover Polish, Chinese, Mexican, and BBQ spots over four hours. Tickets cost $60, which includes transportation, plenty of food, and a copy of The Fooditor 99, a great guidebook to the city’s best restaurants.

There’s a bunch of new bites at Midway airport, where a 6,300-square-foot food court has just opened. The Trib reports that the offerings include an outpost of Arami, Woodgrain Neapolitan Pizza, and the Billy Goat Tavern. This isn’t the end of the changes at Midway, as all of the food stores throughout the airport are slowly being redone.