Power couple Andrew Zimmerman and Lindsey Boland are making their mark on Wicker Park.

Boland celebrated the official opening of her fashion boutique, Habit, at 1951 W. Division, last week, and Zimmerman is the chef behind del Toro, a new Spanish restaurant opening Thursday at 1520 N. Damen.

"We are both very busy with our respective projects," Boland said. "Yet we are extremely supportive of each other. In many ways, thinking of appealing culinary creations and alluring clothing designs are different aspects of the same art, so we can relate well."

Featuring about 50 small-scale, independent designers exclusive to Chicago, Habit’s collection is intended to epitomize style. Boland’s in-house alteration services and custom-designing encourage shoppers to put a bit of couture in their wardrobe. Open for two months before the official opening, Habit is posting steadily increasing sales. Boland said about 20 percent of the business is making clothes to order for various clients.

"Stores like this are helping Chicago get back into the fashion scene, which is so dominant in other big cities like L.A. and New York," said designer Anna Ehrler, a Columbia College graduate whose work is being sold at Habit. "It’s a definite step in the right direction for independent designers like me to be backed by someone like Lindsey."

While Boland is working out future designs and events, Zimmerman is busy planning his menu for the soon-to-open restaurant, del Toro, just a couple of blocks away at the corner of Damen and Milwaukee. The bill of fare is set to include pumpkin and goat cheese croquette, grilled clams with a lemon-oregano jam and wood-grilled lamb chops with roasted garlic flan.For the project, Zimmerman partnered with Terry Alexander and Chris Dexter, owner of a variety of Chicago bars including Goodbar, Spoon and Elm Street Liquors.

The Spanish-inflected spot is taking the place of the popular Wicker Park hangout MOD, which closed last summer after a five-year run. The retro interior of MOD has been replaced with marble and Art Nouveau touches to provide more of a lounge focus. "It’s going to be a convivial, hip melting pot," Zimmerman said. "It will be opened late and feature Spanish artistic influences. I think it’s going to be a great addition to this area."

At the same time, Zimmerman is getting a huge thrill out of watching his wife doing what she loves and excelling at it. "She has filled a niche here with this store, and is enjoying getting to know the new designers and encouraging them to make new, exciting clothes," he said.

After finishing a summer fellowship at Parsons School of Design in New York five years ago, interning with Cynthia Rowley, and developing her own clothing line called Superficial, Boland never intended to open a shop of her own. But when she and Zimmerman moved from New York to Chicago two years ago, she was surprised to find very limited outlets for emerging, independent fashion designers.

"It’s almost like Chicago is still an untapped fashion market," Boland said. "In reality though, there is such a thriving fashion scene here, as well as music and art. There’s so much talent waiting to be discovered and appreciated." Local designers compose roughly one-third of Habit’s collection. Designs by Columbia College and Chicago Art Institute students and alumni are featured in the boutique. Prices range from $100 to $700 for a one-of-a-kind creation.

"It’s an opportunity for new designers to reach customers," Boland said. And new designers like Columbia College student Chad Knight are appreciative of the chance to showcase their work.

"This means a lot," he said. "I’m not selling here just because it’s my only option or anything. I’m selling here because when I first walked into this store it was overwhelming--like a treasure hunt. It’s great to be a part of a store that isn’t about creating homogeneous, mass-produced merchandise. This is the real thing when it comes to high fashion."