A longtime, beloved restaurant in downtown Wilmette will soon be adding what is likely to become its signature side dish.
Wilmette's Zoning Board of Review unanimously recommended approval of a request from Valley Lodge Tavern to operate a carry-out/delivery restaurant within its existing space at its Wednesday, June 5 meeting.
Valley Lodge Tavern owner Bill Stavrou explained the restaurant's new food hall concept to zoning commissioners during the meeting and, in a letter to officials, described the concept as an “innovative venture” that will enhance the quality of the restaurant's food offerings.
According to Stableau, the food hall will have signature dishes prepared by celebrity chefs and sold to customers.
In his letter to the zoning board, Stableau called the food hall “a dynamic amalgamation of popular meal delivery services like Factor and Cooknity, but with the added flexibility of on-demand availability,” adding that the service will represent chefs like Fabio Viviani and Tiffani Faison.
Stavrou told commissioners the food hall had already been operating as a ghost kitchen at the Valley Lodge for nearly five years, and that model led to the delivery-only operation.
The proposal presented to the zoning board Wednesday night would allow the food hall to have a dedicated brick-and-mortar space. Stableau said the food hall would operate in space currently used as a private dining room inside Valley Lodge Tavern.
Stableau noted that the space is about 400 square feet, or about 10 percent of the Valley Lodge restaurant, but called it “underutilized.”
“We think Wilmette will be a great first location for our store,” Stavrou told the board. “The proximity to the train station and the walkable traffic from the train is also a great drawcard for us. The village's dining scene is becoming more chef-driven, so we think we'll fit right in and add value to both ourselves and our neighbors.”
In a delivery-only model, the food hall is making about 15 to 20 deliveries per day, Stavrou said, and with the new operating space, the restaurant expects to increase that number to about 25 to 30 deliveries.
The food hall's hours will not be the same as Valley Lodge's, and are currently planned to be from noon to 7 or 8 p.m. The food hall's dedicated space will be accessed through a separate entrance from Valley Lodge's main entrance. Pre-made meals, which will be prepared off-site, will cost between $18 and $25, Stavrou said.
Food hall executives also plan to open a location in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.
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