Restaurant Row's future looks as eclectic, entertaining as ever

Jeff Danna/Triblocal.com staff reporter

At 11:15 a.m., just 15 minutes after opening for the day, the line at Superdawg in Wheeling has already begun to snake through the dining room.

Fortunately for Mundelein residents Maggie Visconti and her college-age son, Joey, they beat the rush and were sitting at a counter munching on their hot dogs and fries.

“I’m originally from Chicago, where the original [Superdawg] is,” Maggie Visconti said. “Whenever I’m near Chicago, I have to stop and get, like, 14 hot dogs.

So when the second location of the famous hot dog stand opened on Restaurant Row in January, Visconti and her family were excited to learn that their favorite wieners would be available closer to home.

“We’ve been watching,” she said. “We even went online to see when this was opening.”

In many ways, Superdawg represents the future of Restaurant Row, the three-mile stretch of eateries along Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling. It’s a Chicago establishment, it’s gimmicky and it adds to the culinary diversity along the road.

Superdawg’s arrival has drawn additional business to Wheeling’s main drag during a weak economy, said owner Scott Berman.

“Thousands and thousands of people have been coming,” he said. “One of the things people tell us is, ‘Thank you for coming.’”

Located next to the ever-popular Bob Chinn’s Crab House, the hot dog joint attracts former residents of Chicago’s Northwest Side who crave a taste of something from their childhoods. Berman and other restaurateurs along the Row said that those customers often subsequently visit other establishments.

That’s good, said Bob Chinn’s general manager Deno Roumanidakis, because restaurants like Bob Chinn’s have been offering new deals and concepts to draw customers in tough economic times.

For instance, Roumanidakis said Bob Chinn’s is now offering a “lunch box” program in response to a decline in the number of corporate lunches. Through the program, companies can carry out lunches for their employees.

“Unfortunately, this business is a very tight bottom line,” Roumanidakis said.

Restaurant Row also gets a boost from the village of Wheeling, which considers the stretch of Milwaukee Avenue one of its main attractions.

Not only has the village instated promotional campaigns like Dine Global, Give Local, through which restaurant patrons can receive specials in return for donating nonperishable food items, it also has worked to bring new establishments to vacant spaces, including the former home of Restaurant Row mainstay Le Francais.


“We did some aggressive marketing through 2009,” said Peter Vadopalas, the village’s director of economic development. “We had a lot of people look at it, but no one pulled the trigger.”

That was the same situation elsewhere on the Row. Last fall the village board green lit a used car dealership on Milwaukee Avenue, with the caveat that it would be temporary. The property owner, Gary Levitas of the Northfield Group, said his long-term goal is to develop a mixed-use facility, but in the meantime, taxes are due.

But there are signs that businesses have become less hesitant to open restaurants on Milwaukee Avenue. Vadopalas said a restaurant group has recently expressed serious interest in developing the Le Francais property.

Another developer also has been in talks with the village about reusing a former auto body shop next to Tuscany, and the plans call for a new restaurant and a small retail center, Vadopalas said. He said details of the plan could be unveiled this spring.

For the most part, though, Restaurant Row’s future looks much like its past and present: A destination for serious and casual diners alike, where the establishments focus as much on atmosphere and entertainment as they do on food.

One of the newer trends is the mixing of national chain restaurants with the local chains and independent businesses, Vadopalas said.

Restaurants like Buca di Beppo and Ram Restaurant and Brewery now sit alongside one-of-a-kind eateries like Bob Chinn’s and Chicago Bagel and Bialy, and the village and restaurateurs welcome this.

The national chains largely fit in with the Row’s emphasis on entertaining dining experiences, Berman said.

“I don’t know it you can fill and entertain people in the large lots we have [on Restaurant Row] unless you’re someone who knows the restaurant business,” Berman said. “I see the future as very good—very good and very eclectic.”

Vadopalas, too, said he sees Restaurant Row’s eclectic mix of establishments growing in the future, but he also said he wouldn’t mind seeing more entertainment, such as the live music currently showcased at Pete Miller’s Steakhouse, mixed in with the dining.

“I think we envision it as a growing entertainment destination,” he said.

In the short term, though, locals can look forward to some of the smaller changes. Berman said the iconic Mr. and Mrs. Superdawg statues should be finished and installed on the drive-in’s roof shortly.

By Jeff Danna
Triblocal.com reporter



Wheeling Historical Society and Museum