How Wheeling is building momentum for revitalized Restaurant Row

As the year draws to a close, Wheeling officials are optimistic that recent and upcoming changes to the village’s Restaurant Row are revitalizing the once-celebrated stretch of Milwaukee Avenue.

Many of the developments are the result of a combination of private and public investments, courtesy of a municipal grant program that’s designed to spur building renovations and other improvements.

The new Scooter’s Coffee shop a few blocks north of Dundee Road in the heart of Restaurant Row is a prime example of this partnership. So is the recent renovation and expansion of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant on the north end of the Row.

“I anticipate the momentum to continue with more announcements in 2025,” Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said.

A financial engine

Running along Milwaukee Avenue between Hintz and Lake-Cook roads, Restaurant Row has been a financial engine in Wheeling since the 1970s, luring diners from around the Chicago area.

But the restaurant business is a cyclical one, and many of the spots that once were gems in Restaurant Row’s crown lost their luster over time.

The once-legendary Le Francais, 269 S. Milwaukee Ave., closed in 2007 and has yet to be replaced — although a Polish restaurant has been proposed for the site. More recently, Buca di Beppo, 604 N. Milwaukee Ave., closed unexpectedly in 2023, after more than 25 years of service. Just this year, a Mochinut shop at 322 N. Milwaukee Ave. called it quits.

But for the last few years, Wheeling officials have focused on restoring Restaurant Row’s shine. The blueprint for the effort was a 2021 strategic plan that said officials should use financial incentives and other tools to recruit new eateries and promote the ones already in business along Milwaukee Avenue.

Grants have helped

The Wheeling Restaurant, Entertainment, and Build-Out Grant Program has played a big role in that mission. The program reimburses business or property owners for up to half the cost of a renovation or improvement project. And in the last four years alone, the village board has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to restaurants along the Row.

The acclaimed Chicago Ramen got nearly $50,000 from the program to help pay for renovations before it opened last year in a former Subway sandwich shop at 743 N. Milwaukee Ave. Likewise, the franchisees behind the Scooter’s Coffee that opened last month at 310 N. Milwaukee Ave. got a $50,000 grant to help pay for its renovation.

Grant eligibility isn’t limited to new restaurants. Cooper’s Hawk, which has stood at 583 N. Milwaukee Ave. since 2008, was awarded $100,000 last year to help pay for more than $1 million in exterior and interior upgrades. The work wrapped up early this year.

Restaurant Row mainstays Kilcoyne’s Redwood Inn, 342 N. Milwaukee Ave., and the Old Munich Tavern, 582 N. Milwaukee Ave., were awarded grants through the program, too.

Old Munich Tavern owner Bill Loumbardias used his $50,000 grant to build a patio, upgrade the kitchen and make other improvements.

“The village is great,” he said. “They support us as much as they can.”

The investments do more than create better environments for customers. When they result in successful restaurants, they also create more sales tax revenue for the village and increase property values, Village President Pat Horcher noted.

“They’re doing exactly what we want them to do,” Horcher said.

Additionally, the activity has created a buzz that’s helped attract other restaurants to the Row, officials said. Newcomers this year include Cilantro Taco Grill, which opened in November at 749 N. Milwaukee Ave.; Armo Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant at 516 N. Milwaukee Ave.; and Kazan Restaurant, which serves Central Asian food at 94 S. Milwaukee Ave.

And though no plans have been announced, Sfondilis revealed a developer has purchased the Buca di Beppo property. The deal closed last week, he said.

“We have spoken to the developer about some ideas, but nothing has been formally submitted,” Sfondilis said.

More to come

While he wouldn’t share many details, Sfondilis said a destination restaurant and space for public activity are planned for unspecified village-owned land on the south side of Restaurant Row.

Additionally, officials plan to install a monument sign on the southwest corner of Wolf Road and Milwaukee Avenue, near the former Buca di Beppo building, to promote the Row to passersby and help rebuild its identity.

But as the Old Munich Tavern’s Loumbardias acknowledged, public and private investments won’t pay off if customers don’t walk through the doors.

“It’s a struggle,” Loumbardias said of running a restaurant. “At the end of the day, we just need more people to support the businesses.”