Second Try: Co-owners Mark Bires’ and Mindy Friedler’s first Jerry’s, a storefront sandwich shop, opened in 2002. “For the second, we believed that if we created a nicer, warmer space and we had beer and wine, customers would come for dinner and bring the family,” Friedler says. Customers do.

Cocooning: To accommodate the long, narrow space and to keep chilly Windy City breezes out of the dining room, designer Deanna Berman of Chicago’s Design Alternatives created what she calls a “cocoon”: an enclosed entry hall that leads guests from the front door to the lounge. “Jerry’s isn’t a French restaurant and it isn’t a coffee shop,” Berman says. “We wanted it to be informal but still feel a little bit upscale.”

What’s in a Name?: “We think that anything you can eat, you can put between bread and make into a sandwich,” Friedler says of the menu, which includes more than 100 sandwich creations. Some bear the name of the customer who suggested the sandwich; others are named for staffers, friends or celebrities. Wine, spirits and more than 100 craft beers are available.