They’ve already touted oysters as “one of the most perfect foods in the world” — and now, the team that created the iconic Shaw’s Crab House in Chicago are gearing up to open an oyster bar of their own.

Oyster on Halsted is poised to open in November, thanks to a partnership from Shaw’s Crab House team members including partner Bill Nevruz and Executive Chef Peter Balodimas and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ Rich Melman.

“It’s not a secret that oysters and oyster bars have swelled in popularity over the past several years,” Nevruz told Seafood International, adding that the team had been working on researching a new restaurant for a couple of years. “We thought this was a good opportunity for us to do something a little bit different than what we normally do — the location [near Shaw’s] became available and with the sucess of other restaurants that are on that street, it all made sense.

The team is hoping to attract a varied demographic with the restaurant, with will be three concepts all under one roof. The 80-seat oyster bar is on the main level, Nevruz explained, with high ceilings and an open storefront “so you can hear the sights and sounds of the restaurant from the street.”

The basement houses Low Tide Lounge, “a subterranean cocktail lounge” which will open under the oyster bar and offer a selection of craft cocktails. While food will be served, the goal is to create a “cozy and warm [atmosphere where guests] can go and have a cocktail and not feel like they have to order dinner.”

Finally, the top floor will be “a little funky” communal-style restaurant with just a handful of “not so formal, kind of messy” menu items — such as a lobster boil.

“Much of what you do in a business  is sometimes dictated to you by the space that you have and we happened to have a building that has three different levels that we can take advantage of for seating,” Nevruz said. “We thought it would be more interesting if we did three different concepts as opposed to one continuous concept where guests would have to be displaced into three different dining rooms.”

While raw oysters from the US East and West coasts will be at the center of the new restaurant’s menu, the partners are going for an East Coast atmosphere and will feature such East Coast classics as Stuffies — stuffed clams baked with chorizo — and lobster rolls prepared either chilled New England style with mayonnaise or served warm with butter, Connecticut style. Other planned menu items include lobster spaghetti with lobster jus, cured tomato and arugula; King crab cocktail; and a selection of fresh fish such as crispy snapper with Thai chili, fish sauce, lime and cilantro.

Nevruz said the team knows Oyster on Halsted is going to have to build its own reputation from scratch, but “what we want to use the Shaw’s brand for is to start with building credibility in the seafood world. We have 30 years of experience procuring seafood from around the world and we have relationships with those oyster farmers and fishermen and I think that’s important in the seafood world.”

“It certainly lends itself to a certain amount of credibility,” he said. “It’s going to have its own reputation but it starts in a good place.”

Fans of Shaw’s will get a sneak peek at Oyster on Halstead at this year’s Oyster Fest, taking place Sept. 11.