RESTAURANTS: Changes mean a new era is coming to the Viagra Triangle. PAGE 3
GREG HINZ: Contests to watch in the sprint to November. PAGE 2
CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 | $3.50
The nation wasn’t ready for McPlant Inflation and complexity sank McDonald’s test run of a meatless burger
JOHN R. BOEHM
The low-profile architect behind attention-grabbing designs like the Skybridge condo tower and Rush University Medical Center is a homegrown talent who started out in the Union Stockyards I BY DENNIS RODKIN
DO YOU KNOW RALPH JOHNSON?
Bad timing killed McDonald’s veggie burger. The McPlant was McDonald’s bid to tap into a nascent market for plant-based proteins, where rivals such as Burger King have had some success with meatless items like the Impossible Whopper. But the world’s largest hamburger chain ended a U.S. test run in late July, with no indication it will roll out the McPlant nationally. It seems the McPlant came along at the wrong time for con-
ALLY MAROTTI
BY ALLY MAROTTI
sumers and McDonald’s franchisees. McPlant’s premium price tag wasn’t what consumers were looking for as they traded down to cheaper offerings amid surging inflation. And franchisees battling soaring labor costs and supply chain snags weren’t eager See McPLANT on Page 22
EDUCATION
Rush University Medical Center
ALAMY
I
n an architecture-besotted city where it seems everyone can point out buildings by Jeanne Gang, Helmut Jahn and Stanley Tigerman, few could identify a Ralph Johnson building. Yet the 73-year-old South Side native, who at the dawn of his career helped design cold-storage facilities for the Union Stockyards, has had as much influence on the look and feel of Chicago as his better-known peers. We’re surrounded by his distinctive works, including the Boeing Building, the clover-shaped high-rise at Rush University Medical
JOHN R. BOEHM
YOU KNOW HIS BUILDINGS.
See JOHNSON on Page 23
For CPS students who were already struggling before the pandemic upended their learning, the district is rolling out new programs I PAGE 15
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CRAIN’S LIST
YOUR VIEW
Check out our annual ranking of the city’s biggest law firms. PAGE 12
Labor looks to tighten its already strong control over Illinois. PAGE 10
9/9/22 3:15 PM