Grace, the celebrated Chicago restaurant helmed by chef Curtis Duffy, closed in 2017—but not before making an indelible mark on the Second City’s elite dining scene for both its Michelin 3-Star menu and striking interior design. An interesting design build project at the onset, the West Loop space was ground-level in the front but also incorporated a significant amount of raised space at the back that was formerly a truck dock. Thus, JackLee’s first challenge was to level out the floor plan, which meant creating design build systems of spray foam, rigid foam and concrete, as well as rhythmically linking tiered sections of the restaurant. Additionally, Grace featured an open show kitchen, tasking JackLee with sourcing virtually silent, top-of-the-line appliances and kitchen equipment, not to mention creating a custom professional-grade ventilation system from scratch that was as quiet as a mouse. JackLee took all challenges in stride, meeting with the owner and architect on a weekly basis to troubleshoot and field requests. From start to finish, the Grace project took approximately 5 months to complete.