Today is a good day for River North – it’s the eagerly awaited re-opening of Club Lago*. Established in 1952 by Gus and Ida Lazzerini, this family owned Italian restaurant is the quintessential neighborhood spot, old school in both looks and food (think lots of red sauce and a killer eggplant parm). Photo from Chicago Creative PartnershipOr at least it was old school up until March 9th of this year. That’s when the boiler in the building next door exploded, sending the chimney crashing down into the restaurant kitchen.
PhotoThe current owners, brothers GianCarlo and Guido Nardini (the third generation) posted some photos from the restaurant’s early days in the window, mounted a dry erase board on the door for messages from loyal customers and started the process of bringing the place back to life.
Photos
Although I’m sure that the regulars probably loved the place as it was, I’m hoping that they made some changes to the dining area in the back. While the booths up in the bar area were comfortable, I never found the back room to be very welcoming. Regardless, I look forward to stopping in soon – happy to have Club Lago back in business.
*They actually re-opened last week to get a feel for the new kitchen but today is the official grand re-opening party.
1 comment:
The brothers are from Elmhurst, and when we were there they gave me the uncles name, title and address in Italy. The uncle is the Mayor of Lucca. I beleive the one brother gratuated in the same era as you... OOO
Post a Comment