When SOPHY® Hyde Park opened in 2018, it welcomed residents and visitors alike as a 98-room, boutique destination that quietly invited the exploration of music, literature, science, and art across its richly appointed interior spaces. Both muse and respectful ode as a song that continues to be written, SOPHY Hyde Park celebrates and embraces the creativity, the innovation, the inspiration, and the connection made across disciplines, deeply reflective of the spirit of its neighborhood and city. Its brick and punched-window, glass façade was designed as a contextual reference to the Hyde Park neighborhood and diverse architectural expressions found along the arterial corridor of 53rd Street, and its interiors embraced amenity spaces as intimate residences of leading historic figures.
Developed by The Olympia Companies of Portland, Maine and SMART Hotels LLC of Ohio, with architectural design by GREC Architects of Chicago and interior design by Stonehill Taylor of New York City, SOPHY Hyde Park stands as a beacon of hospitality, for connection and community, amid University of Chicago, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Jackson Park, and Midway Plaisance Park—the home of the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. And since its debut, SOPHY Hyde Park and its ground floor restaurant and bar, Mesler Kitchen, have become so much more than a boutique destination as an extension of the community itself, establishing itself as both participant and living room for people to gather amid a backdrop meant to inspire dialogue and ignite inspiration.
“The hotel is really one of the anchors, if not the pre-eminent anchor on 53rd Street, which is the main retail corridor within Hyde Park. The vision behind the hotel really stems from the historical nature of Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, so the brand pillars tie back to art, science, and literature to evoke the emotions of the university as well as the neighborhood,” said Michael Falkenstein, General Manager for SOPHY Hyde Park.
“SOPHY is derived from ‘sophia,’ which goes back to the Greek for art essentially and Mesler is derived from ‘mix and mingle,’ so when you put the two together, SOPHY is the overarching umbrella for the guest experience, but within that experience, Mesler has its own standalone, strong point of view of bringing the neighborhood and our guests together to mix and mingle,” Falkenstein added.
Mesler Kitchen at SOPHY Hotel is a full-service, restaurant, bar, and lounge social hub set within an artful composition of inspired geometric motifs and literary themes. Its curated menus are as thoughtful as its experiential design, in which its distinct entrance from the street draws locals as well as guests, and its proximity to the reception lobby allows the SOPHY story to unfold as details become woven into something larger. The more organic, sinuous forms found in the lobby—inspired by musical notes and instruments, such as the sweeping 18-foot-long lighting fixture—meet geometric inspiration in the bar area, which is separated by a two-sided fireplace of dolce vita marble. The interplay is rhythmic and intentional, as Edison bulbs and the mirror-backed bar evoke illumination and metalwork evocative of the sun—a space where conversation and jazz music coalesce. In the restaurant, bookshelves are carved into columns, delineating seating areas, and rectilinear patterns in the area rug contrast with the spherical, sunburst-like pattern on tall wooden doors that lead to the private dining room.
“Each zone feels and should evoke a different emotion. The lighting fixture [in the lobby] is meant to resemble music notes, and the ups and downs of music, and the floor in the bar area is all geometric by design, because that goes back to science,” Falkenstein said. “Mesler is heavy on the literature piece, so there are large-framed book covers in our private dining room that all reference Chicago or Hyde Park, as well as stacked books in the dining room. It’s so layered that rather than simple bookshelves, they are meant to resemble columns which then goes back to architecture. I would argue SOPHY-Mesler is truly a case study of everything communicates, and you see it in all the details throughout the hotel.”
Mesler, in which New American fare is curated with creativity, local infusions, and diverse range of culinary inspiration in mind, offers breakfast, brunch, mid-day, dinner, and late-night menus in addition to its libation menu. From Maine Lobster Eggs Benedict, Shrimp ‘N Grits, Mesler’s Chicken and Pearl Sugar Waffles—and buttermilk pancakes that arguably rival any to be found in the city—on its brunch menu, to Mesler Deviled Eggs, Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich, and Mesler House Salad—complete with pea shoots, spinach, arugula, pomegranate, apples, pumpkin seeds, goat’s cheese, and house vinaigrette—on its mid-day menu, each plate offers something familiar with a bit of inspired creativity. Its dinner menu, which features house-made Tagliatelle, Spaghettini, and Rigatoni Pasta, also offers Wagyu Flat Iron Steak; Crispy Amish Chicken with Yukon gold potato puree, oyster mushrooms, black truffles, and jus; and Pork Schnitzel, featuring hazelnut and parmesan crumbs, braised red cabbage, and a caper-lemon butter sauce.
“From a cocktail standpoint, most of the drinks have names that either tie back to the neighborhood of Hyde Park or have an academic title, like The Laureate, for example, being a scholar like in music. We use Beyoncé’s [SirDavis by Beyoncé] rye whisky in it—a lot of people would say she is a musical genius—and then we have the Thesis as well which ties back to that school theme,” said Alexis Harris, Director of Food and Beverage at SOPHY Hotel. “We also have Oak Street, which is the original name of 53rd Street, and then we have these small details [that tie into the interior design] with beakers for cream and larger ones for mimosas. It is not everyday that you get a science flask to pour your cream into your coffee, but you understand it once you stay in the neighborhood.”
Other cocktails on the menu feature the 53rd Old Fashioned with a Mesler-exclusive Uncle Nearest Single Barrel—from the award-winning portfolio of the Shelbyville, Tenn.-based Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey brand honoring the world’s first-known African American master distiller, Nearest Green—rosemary, infused maple syrup, and bitters, served with an Uncle Nearest infused cookie from Strugglebeard Bakery. There is also Sweater Weather, with Hennessy V.S, Cointreau, passionfruit, and lemon; Mesler Punch, featuring Bacardi Superior Rum, blood orange, orange juice, triple sec, and lime; a Hibiscus Margarita; Espresso Martini; and spirit-free options like the Mesler Spritz, Kenwood, and Sweet Dreams.
“This space in particular truly is the living room of Hyde Park. You will see people from any walk of life within the neighborhood come in, from the alderman and mom-and-dad from around the corner to people visiting their family. This is the living room of Hyde Park,” Falkenstein said. “It is amazing, truly amazing. I’ve been in this business for over 20 years, and I’ve worked coast to coast. There are very few hotels that are like this from an experiential standpoint.”
Harris also noted that it is the people piece that really stands out as distinctive about SOPHY Hyde Park and its Mesler Kitchen in particular, where residents from the neighborhood continue to return and forge long-lasting relationships over a cocktail, a meal, or a conversation—and reference it as “their Cheers bar.”
“There is no place else like it on 53rd. For me, it matters. I don’t ever want to hear from a guest that they had a bad experience or a bad time, and that goes for whether I am here at work or in my own home. Hospitality is so much more than bringing out a plate of food on time, it’s asking the regulars how they are dealing with life when they come in all the time and just want a break to sit on your living room couch and talk about it,” Harris said.
“It goes so much further than just mixing up a drink and handing it to them, it’s, ‘What do you like?’ And, ‘How can I make this experience better for you?’ And it also matters because when you open a business in the middle of a neighborhood, you want it to be more than just a business, you want it to be someplace where people feel comfortable and safe and not like their neighborhood is being taken from them in a sense. It’s not just for tourists to come to the South Side to visit, but it is for them, too, and I think that is very important,” Harris added.
Throughout the year, SOPHY Hotel also hosts events like its inaugural “SHEro Series,” which kicks off March 4, 2025, highlighting a panel of women leaders in various industries and creating an impact in Chicago. The Wednesday series runs throughout March, celebrating the impact of trailblazing women; joining the regular “DJ Brunch Series” that runs every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Mesler Kitchen | Bar | Lounge. Mesler also recently launched “All That Jazz Series,” which takes place every fourth Thursday of the month from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
“I think SOPHY Hyde Park has always been very well-received and its reputation as a community partner has only grown. In the last two-to-three years, the trajectory upwards has only gotten stronger, because of its position in the community, because of its service levels, and because of the consistency,” Falkenstein said.
Whether it is in the group of the hospitality staff from the hotel who joined hundreds of other volunteers to paint a local school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the quarterly featured cocktail that Harris launched in which a portion of each cocktail sold that period goes to a community charity, or in the donation of art supplies in partnership with Trinal Inc. that led to 60 original, student-created art pieces from Hyde Park Academy High School that served as an exterior mural and outdoor gallery at the hotel, community engagement and support of that community is at the heart of SOPHY’s story.
“Everyone always compliments the art that we have, and I love that it is not only from bigger name artists, but also from Hyde Park High School. Their students have contributed art to our space, which is really amazing, and I think sends a message to our younger guests that you don’t have to be gone for your art to be seen somewhere and appreciated. That is really cool,” Harris said.
“It is the experience that makes it all worth it, because of the details and the personality and the emotional connection, it is much more than a transaction, it is about giving back. I think in our polarizing world that we live in today, hospitality is more important than ever because you can form a meaningful connection with people from all walks of life. It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s really a responsibility for people who are proud to be in the hospitality profession,” Falkenstein added.
Photography: Courtesy of SOPHY Hyde Park, Grant Kessler, Alan Shortall
First published in Great Lakes By Design: The Custom Build, Volume 9, Issue 1
Text: R.J. Weick
