Another Highland Park Restaurant Closes

First it was Moderno. Then it was Royce. Now, it's gone. The John des Rosiers' restaurant in Renaissance Place has closed.

Only a few months after opening, Royce Restaurant in Highland Park has closed, according to an email from chef John des Rosiers sent on Monday. Get local news in a daily email from Patch. It's like getting a free newspaper. Learn more.  Rosiers helmed the restaurant, which began as a chef-driven Italian restaurant called Moderno last year. The space closed at the end of 2012 and reopened in January of this year as a classic American restaurant that focused on locally grown organic and sustainable ingredients. "We built a really good restaurant with Moderno, and we were really proud of it," des Rosiers said, "but it wasn't the right thing for Highland Park." It seems like Royce wasn't right, either. The restaurant got solid praise during…

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Highlands and Ravines

Highland Park's Royce Restaurant is a Rebirth

John Des Rosiers' Royce isn't just a new menu, it's a new vibe. Read Ed Brill's review of the clubby, more 1930s restaurant that replaced the Italian restaurant Moderno.

There are a lot of good burgers on the North Shore. The Claim Company reclaimed my tastebuds when they reopened in Northbrook Court two years ago. Five Guys has crept closer and closer, with outposts in Wilmette, Glenview, and Vernon Hills. And the granddaddy of them all, Charlie Beinlich's, continues to grind them out every day, as they have for fifty years. Into this crowded meat patty market steps Royce, now in the former Rosebud and Moderno space in Highland Park's Renaissance Place. While I was a Moderno fan, they weren't doing enough business to pay the rent. Chef and Proprietor John Des Rosiers knew it was time to reboot, and out the other end -- after a quick three-week renovation -- has come his new concept. Royce isn't just a new…

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North Shore Foodie Finds

Inovasi Owner Talks New Highland Park Restaurant

John des Rosiers took a break from overseeing the transformation of Highland Park's Moderno into the American-styled Royce to explain what he envisions for the restaurant.

Over the sounds of drilling, moving wood and shuffling feet, John des Rosiers is explaining what's next for his Highland Park restaurant. The owner of Inovasi in Lake Bluff and Moderno in Renaissance Place in downtown Highland Park decided recently to close Moderno, an upscale Italian restaurant, and reopen it as a more approachable, family-friendly spot serving American cuisine. "We built a really good restaurant with Moderno, and we were really proud of it," Rosiers said, "but it wasn't the right thing for Highland Park." Moderno, the modern Italian restaurant that opened in Renaissance Place in April, closed on Dec. 22. It will reopen Jan. 10 as Royce, a chef-driven casual restaurant, with a reasonably priced menu that will include …

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