TNT Rooftop, new restaurant on West Side of Chicago, offering luxury chauffeured dining experience
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A brand new restaurant on the West Side is offering a luxury dining experience for Valentine's Day, complete with chauffeur service to and from their Austin location.
TNT Rooftop Restaurant, 5405 W. Madison St., is a new addition to the Austin neighborhood, having just opened this past December.
The restaurant and the building it's in are owned by husband-wife duo and Chicago natives Tony and Taneka Anderson. They said Austin is lacking for food choices, and they wanted to give the neighborhood something more upscale.
It's their first restaurant, but far from their first investment back into the community.
"I was raised in Austin, so I figured, you know, change always starts at home. So I started at home," Tony said. "I built the place. My wife, she closed on the deal."
They've handcrafted an upscale dining experience that previously felt exclusive to other parts of the city.
"It was one of those things where we could have built this anywhere, but the reason we chose here, because we felt like it would be most impactful here," Tony said.
What they've got going on goes beyond the food. They're aiming to create entire experiences.
"It was actually my husband's idea. He said, 'You know what, when we open up, we should do something where we pick them up in a Rolls Royce, or we pick them up in a Bentley, and they can have dinner here. Nice restaurant, nice chauffeur service,'" Taneka said.
"I wanted to offer a luxury to a community that hasn't seen much of it," Tony said.
Once guests of their Rolls (Rose) Experience arrive at the restaurant, they're greeted with a cocktail and a three-course dinner for two.
Their menu includes steaks, seafood, and vegetarian options.
"My husband and I, we don't eat meat. We're pescatarian. So we wanted to come up with something that we can offer to everybody," Taneka said.
"We're trying to reset the bar for what is normal for the Austin community," Tony said.
When Rolls (Rose) Experience guests finish their dinner, their chauffeur will take them back home in one of their fleet of luxury vehicles.
"A big thing about what we were doing, we wanted to be different from everyone, right?" Tony said. "We just want the community to know, and don't count us out. No matter where we come from, where we start from, you know? It's what they say? It's not over to the fat lady sings, right?"
In addition to the restaurant, the building they own includes a boutique and a multipurpose event space.
It took several years to get their business up and running. The pandemic muddied things up, but since they opened in December, they've seen a wide range of Austin residents coming out; from older folks to members of Gen Z.