This excerpt originally appeared in Pre Shift, a hotel industry newsletter. subscribe For more first-person accounts, advice, and interviews:.
It’s open now is a year-long series celebrating the most exciting new restaurants of 2026. Throughout the year, we’ll be taking a behind-the-scenes look at the buzzy opening scene with teams from Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC. The restaurant will then host an exclusive meal as part of a dinner party hosted by Capital One. Read on for the challenges, honest thoughts, and advice from the owners of America’s hottest new business openings.
All Well comes from the team behind Oriole, a fine dining restaurant recognized by both the Michelin Guide and James Beard Awards. “There’s a sense of comfort when you walk in and know that we prepared the food and cocktails ourselves,” says Larry Feldmeier, the restaurant’s executive chef and co-owner. Even the name comes from that relationship. “When I worked at Oriole with Noah (Sandoval, chef and partner at All Well), when one of us was out of the country, we would contact each other and text ‘everything’s OK,’” he says. “It was a way to see how things were going in the restaurant and how everyone was doing. We were: We should just call it that restaurant.”
Mary Anne Porto: You opened in April, how has it been so far? What difficulties do you have?
Larry Feldmire: In fact, the heat after opening the door was quite smooth. Prior to this, a week ago, we were suddenly told that we would not be able to get them (on time) – glassware, plates, etc. that we had ordered months ago. So there were hiccups. But we’ve been fortunate to have a good team here.
How do you build a good opening team?
Word of mouth became more common, with friends telling other friends to come here to work. I had never met Mary Christie, the GM, but Noah had worked with her a few years ago and said she would be a perfect fit, so she came on board. I also worked with Oriole’s bar director Maxx (Kleiner) and we’ve always had a good relationship, so he was one of the first people I contacted to see if he would be interested in the program. Our sous chef is also someone I worked with. From there they were a kind of spider web reaching out to the people on board. (The hiring process) involves taking on (some of the positions) until we have everyone we need. Some of our team came from out of town and didn’t start until opening day, so it was a bit of a challenge.
How does this work for employees starting on opening day? Do people train very quickly?
We had very minimal training. We got the space in January and didn’t start much work until February. Construction was completed and equipment arrived in February and March. Once it was done, at the end of March, we were like, “We’ve got to do this with friends and family, basically, in two or three weeks.” So the timing was a bit tight. We hired (most of the team) the first week of April and friends and family the following week.
(The training) was a kind of trial by fire. We found that through management we could set up and organize our work the way we wanted. Then when people started, they could say, “This is how it goes.” It worked. There are other places where you get six weeks of training for a new restaurant, but I think sometimes it’s easier to just get started. Especially when you have a group of talented people who know what they are doing.
This will probably help shape the process and see what works best for everyone.
100%. We also organize lineups. In the first few weeks we were moving in and setting up a new station in the back kitchen. We are learning a lot as we grow together.
When you were thinking about opening Orwell, were you intentionally trying to make it different from Oriole?
That was one of the biggest things we talked about, making sure it wasn’t just Oriole 2.0. That was something me and Noah wanted to do. We wanted something very similar in food style but completely different.
At first, many of the customers (perhaps as many as 60%) were regulars at Oriole. Now things are starting to balance out. But I tend to think that there are people who will always rely on trying out a restaurant’s menu variety. (Letting guests know that All Well is who it is) is something we still struggle with a little bit. But I think over time All Well will establish its own identity.
Can you tell us how you came up with the menu and whether you approached it differently than at Oriole?
This is another obvious one, but our most important consideration was making sure everything was delicious and made well. It’s a comfortable space, but it’s not the place to talk about these things. Bring your childhood memories back to your plate. Just well-made food, things we want to eat when we go out.
I think one of the biggest differences here compared to Oriole is that the cuisine is a little less sophisticated. For example, we do larger family-style pasta dishes or serve fried fish at the bar. We want people to realize that this is not something that is disturbing. It’s fun, but it can get noisy and messy.
Is there a dish that stands out?
That family-style pasta course is exactly what we want to do here. Pasta stuffed with Delice de Bourgogne and potatoes. Beurre monté glaze with English peas, a little Banyuls vinegar and pea tendrils. Served in a copper pot with sourdough toast from Milli Bakery here in Chicago. For texture, lather buckwheat honey butter with puffed vegetables. We also get some broth made from smoked chicken. There is a bowl on the table, so the idea is that you can scoop the pasta into the bowl, add broth if you want, and dip the bread in there. It’s pretty delicious. You may not notice it as you eat it, but there is incredible skill behind it.
There is also a bar where you can enjoy a la carte food until midnight. Have you always known you wanted to do that, and who are you serving on that side?
We had a pretty vague idea of what we wanted to do, but seeing that the space consisted of a fairly long room with a pillar in the center, it almost naturally divided into two rooms. We wanted it to be a space where you could come in and have a five-course meal, but we also wanted the neighborhood to be able to have a sandwich or a drink before going home.
Since we’re in probably the hottest food district in town, we wanted the chefs to be able to come and eat after work (at the bar). Five or 10 years ago, all of these restaurants were open until 1 or 2 am, but these days it’s almost impossible to find a place open after 10 am. At least there is no decent place. We wanted to do a little something for everyone.
What are they not telling you about opening a restaurant that more people should know?
I have a lot of money. (Laughs) I think the food is the easiest part. This is the difficult part of business. In fact, the more you understand your financial situation and what it requires and costs, the more success you will have. It doesn’t matter how good the food is if you’re not making money.
How did you figure that out?
I’ve been doing this for 20-25 years. I love a fine meal. It’s probably my favorite thing to do. When I was young, I really wanted to open a place. But I also worked in some hotels for a few years. Working in a more structured, sort of corporate place might not be as much fun, but those are the places that are the most structured, have a P&L, and really teach you the basics so you understand everything that goes into a restaurant. I learned a lot by doing things other than what I expected.
