One of restaurateur Rich Melman's gifts, I think, is his ability to identify niches, up and down the dining price scale, and fill them. The same mind that created Ambria, Everest and Avanzare also came up with Mon Ami Gabi, Tucci Benucch and Frankie's Scaloppine.

Apparently there's a gene for that sort of thing, because it's been passed down to his children, who have become serious restaurateurs in their own right. The three (RJ, Jerrod and Molly Melman), who already have the refined RPM Italian in their portfolio, went rustic-Italian to create Il Porcellino, which opened mid-March a block away from RPM Italian and just steps from the siblings' first venture, Hub 51.

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Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/