Local restaurateur Jeff Griswold has opened a new dining establishment in the former Roots Latin Grill space on Wabash.
Levity Bar and Grill officially opened Aug. 1, serving hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood as well as “a lot of wine and martinis,” Griswold said.
“It’s higher-end food in a casual atmosphere,” he said.
Griswold previously owned Pao Bistro located in The Gables and, before that, Indigo Restaurant on Lindbergh Boulevard. He said the smaller footprint of Levity’s space at 4127 Wabash Ave. was a big factor in his decision to re-enter the dining scene.
“Honestly, I’ve been doing this since the mid to late ‘90s, and I didn’t know if I wanted to get back into the industry,” Griswold said. “If this was a 6,000- to 8,000-square-foot restaurant, I would have said no, but this space was small enough to manage with a small staff.”
Levity is open for dinner starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Griswold said he highly recommends diners make reservations due to the limited seating available in the 2,000-square-foot restaurant space.
Roots Latin Grill closed in May after nearly seven years in business. Luis Morales opened Roots in October 2019 and later expanded to open Socavon, a bar and lounge just two doors down from Roots. That business closed at the end of 2025, and the space is being turned into a Topgolf Swing Suite, which is slated to open later this month.