By Ameet Sachdev | Are Chicagoans eating out more? Moves by two restaurant chains seem to suggest that dining-out trends in the city are on the upswing.

Sun Capital Partners Inc., a private investment firm whose restaurants include Boston Market and Friendly’s, said Wednesday it has acquired the Bar Louie chain, which was started in Chicago in 1991. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bar Louie is part of Restaurants-America, a company that owns several
restaurant brands, some that are familiar to Chicagoans such as One
North. Bar Louie has 36 locations nationwide, including 11 in the
Chicago area.

Sun Capital, based in Boca Raton, Fla., has a number of restaurants in
its portfolio, including Boston Market and Fazolis.